


The Phantom Thieves of New Game+

by el_pepe



Series: The Phantom Thieves of New Game+ [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Chapter 17 is Rated M, Chapter 46 is just a timeline, Chapter 47 is a response to Chapter 43, Do Not Read Chapter 43 if you are a Mishima Fanboy/girl, I really hate Mishima, I shouldn't have to say this but expect spoilers for everything in this game, My Beta says Chapter 23 should be Rated M for Yandere Haru, My Beta says Chapter 33 should be Rated M due to Akechi's amount of F-Bombs, New Game+, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Loop, Will also have spoilers for P5R, chapter 8 is rated M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:27:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 56
Words: 73,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25369093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/el_pepe/pseuds/el_pepe
Summary: A collection of short one-shots and drabbles following Akira Kurusu on his various times through New Game+. Sometimes, his changes can lead things to be better. Most times, however, his changes only lead to more problems. Now cross-posted on FF.Net.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Niijima Sae
Series: The Phantom Thieves of New Game+ [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950451
Comments: 170
Kudos: 475





	1. Paying Kaneshiro

Akira stood with the others, listening as Kaneshiro went on about wanting three million yen. After hearing the same conversation so many times (was this five times now? six?), he mostly tuned out conversations, listening just enough to remember when he was supposed to say something witty. However, this time, he was ready for this. He had no idea if it would actually work, but he was truly curious if it would.

"So you just want three million yen?" he asked, causing Kaneshiro to stop talking.

"I just said that." he replied coldly, narrowing his eyes at him. "Were you not listening?"

"No, just making sure." Akira replied, opening his school bag. He pulled out an envelope and tossed it on the table. "There. Three million yen."

Everyone was looking at him in shock.

"Dude...where did you...?" Ryuji muttered.

"So, will you delete the picture?" Akira asked, ignoring the shocked looks.

"Of course I will." Kaneshiro said, his shocked look slowly turning into an evil smirk. "Once the rest of your friends hand over _their_ three million yen."

"What!?" Ann yelled, looking at him in shock.

"You never said anything about all of us giving you three million yen!" Ryuji yelled, taking a step forward and raising his fist in anger.

"I'm sorry." Makoto muttered softly. "I'm sorry."

"You can thank your friend there for putting down three million with no issue." he said, lazily pointing at Akira. "I figure if he can easily throw that kind of money around, then all of you must be able to as well."

"You truly are a despicable example of a human being." Yusuke said, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm sorry." Makoto continued to repeat softly.

"Well, I am a reasonable man." Kaneshiro said, reclining back. "I'll make you a deal. I'll accept this three million yen, and delete the picture. In return, these two young women will spend the day with me. How about that?"

"You'll regret that." Akira said, grabbing the three million yen from the table. "Enjoy your last few days of freedom."

"You dare threaten me?" Kaneshiro asked softly before standing up to glare at him. "Who the hell do you think you are!?"

Akira... _Joker_...returned the glare with a smirk.

"Your worst nightmare."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for this one-shot comes from the fact that, by your third or fourth time through the game at the latest, you already have far more than the three million yen Kaneshiro tries to blackmail you for. This leads to a question: Why not just pay him the three million and be done with it? Written here is, in honesty, a very real outcome that would have happened had Atlus allowed us to just pay off the three million.


	2. The Backup Members

Joker sighed as the shadow dissolved into black smoke. He watched as Skull walked forward to check what the shadow dropped. He watched as Queen stretched and quickly turned away before he was caught staring. He watched as Fox pulled out a package of medicine to use, having taken a bad hit and been knocked out during the battle. It was this issue that made him start to question things.

"Mona, Panther." he said, turning to face them. They were the rear guard, the backup members. He could sort of understand the logic of not running forward as a large group, but this was different.

"Yeah, Joker?" Panther asked, looking at him.

"I've been wondering this for a while." he said, knowing they would never believe him were he to say just _how_ long he had been thinking this. They had no idea this was his third time through. "When one of us goes down, why don't you revive them? Why don't you come forward and replace them?"

"Because...we're the backup members." Mona said as the rest of the Phantom Thieves turned to pay attention to the conversation. "We're here to make sure no one sneaks up on you while you're fighting."

"I understand that." he said, nodding his head slightly. "But when we go against something and everyone else gets knocked out, why don't you help?"

"Well...if we're not watching the back, we can be ambushed and surrounded while fighting."

"Wouldn't you agree that being beaten is bad enough?" Joker continued his argument, his voice gaining an edge. "It won't matter if we're ambushed from behind if everyone up front goes down."

"I guess you have a point." Mona said, nodding slightly. "But still, the job of the backup members is to keep you from being ambushed." he continued, causing Joker to sigh and turn to Queen.

"You agree with me, right Queen?" he asked, trying to keep the begging hope out of his voice.

"While I agree you have a point, I believe Mona's point is stronger." she said, causing him to stare at her in shock for a moment. He turned to the others, hoping someone would see his point.

"Do any of you agree with me?" he asked, this time not bothering to hide the begging hope that crept into his voice. After seeing their blank looks for a few moments, he figured he had his answer. He let out a sigh and turned away from them. He started to walk away for a moment before stopping, turning back to look at Mona.

"Let me guess, the reason you can't go and take care of things during our battles with the Palace rulers is because we could be ambushed from behind, right?"

"Right." Mona said, nodding. "After all, without us you could have shadows come up and-"

"Yeah, right." he said, turning away to continue on.

Backup members.

If only he knew a way to swap them out while in battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for this came while playing through P5R. While doing Futaba's Palace, I started to really question why the backup members couldn't be the ones to be sent to do the "send someone over" moments of the battle. The in-game reason for why they don't fight is that any character not in your party will stay behind, covering you from being ambushed during fights. Yeah, they have new things that can be done during battles added in for P5R, and yeah you can change them out once you start Hifumi's confidant, but it still seems like a half-thought-out excuse for gameplay balance.


	3. Mishima

"Hey, Kurusu! Wait!" he heard from behind him. He fought down the urge to sigh and turned around as the person who called him ran up.

"Hey, Nishima." he said, not even bothering to force a smile. He internally smirked as Mishima grimaced slightly at the wrong name.

"It's Mishima." the boy said with a sigh.

"That's what I said, Mishima." Akira lied, not bothering to hide his overly exaggerated yawn.

"Oh." the boy said, before continuing. Akira didn't bother to listen as the boy rambled on. He knew it would be about his idea of justice.

Akira didn't care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As my sister can attest to, having watched me play through the entirety of P5R during this lockdown, I hate Mishima. His only redeeming quality is that, by sending Shiho to be raped by Kamoshida, he gives Akira and Ryuji the motivation to steal Kamoshida's heart. It's up in the air on if Akira and Ryuji would have moved forward with it regardless, but that one act is what sealed the deal for them. That's to say nothing on the fact that Mishima leaks Akira's record to the student body, acts as Kamoshida's errand-boy, goes on a massive power trip, and is all around annoying as all fuck. Don't expect to see Mishima pop up often in anything I write for this fandom.


	4. New Game+

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be advised, Persona 5 Royal endgame spoilers.

Akira relaxed back into the seat of the train, his eyes closed with a soft smile on his face. He absently stroked his hand down Morgana's back, trying to keep the smile from turning into a smirk as the totally-not-a-cat purred. He let his mind wander to everything that happened since he came to Tokyo.

The friends he made.

The lives he changed.

Sumire.

He knew Golden Week was only a few months away, but he was already counting down the days until he could come back and spend time with her. Eventually, summer break would come and he could come back and spend a month with her and the rest of the Thieves. Already, they were making plans to go on a trip around Japan. Eventually, Christmas and New Years would come, and then graduation. Then he could return to Tokyo for good, and hopefully spend the rest of his life with her.

He felt a small blush spread across his face at the thought.

Still, he couldn't hope but dream.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

"What?" he said, opening his eyes, only for them to grow wide in shock.

Where only seconds before he was on a Shinkansen, he was now on a standard subway train. He looked down to try and find Morgana, only to find himself dressed in a Shujin Academy uniform and Morgana nowhere in sight.

"Are you for real? A mental shutdown?" he heard a girl ask, causing his head to snap in their direction.

"It's the truth!" her friend said.

"To a person, though?" she replied with a small laugh. "That's gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?"

"It can't be." Akira muttered to himself, quickly pulling out his phone. He knew the date. The date was March 20, 2017. That was the date. He turned his phone on and saw the date.

April 9, 2016.

What the hell was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we see Akira going through his first loop. I may write something later with him trying to convince the other Phantom Thieves and the rest of his confidants he's gone back in time at a later date.


	5. Useless

"Makoto joined you!?" Sae yelled, jumping up and slamming her hands on the table. "You made my sister break the law and join you!? How did you force her to do that!?"

Akira had lost track of the number times he had been in this room. He still remembered the first time, as he tried to keep track of what he needed to do. He knew he had to keep Sae from walking out. He knew he needed to have her show Akechi his phone. It didn't help that whatever the hell those detectives injected him with screwed with his memory. He was honestly afraid he had made a mistake after Sae walked out with his phone that first time.

Now though, after so many times going through this, he found himself letting his mind wander while recounting the story. He knew what he needed to say, so he said it. Most of the time, his mind wandered to his current dilemma of being stuck in a time loop. He would mentally think of ways to change the outcome and maybe...finally...break free. Other times, he let his mind wander toward Sae, and questioning to himself how to convince her to maybe date a high-schooler.

This time, however...all he could think about was the words Makoto said to him the night before they sent the calling card while lying in bed together.

This time through, he decided to date Makoto. While he realized that all of the girls had things they hid from him were he not dating them, he never would have guessed what Makoto was hiding. He knew that Sae was very authoritarian with how she treated Makoto before they convinced her to change, but to find out what she called Makoto...

"Answer me!" Sae yelled again, slamming her hands down on the table once again. "What kind of blackmail did you use to force her to join you!? What did you do to my little sister!?"

"What did I do to her?" he asked, looking up at Sae slowly. Once, there was a time he lusted after her. He spent two loops trying to figure out how to end up with her, and even now he hadn't fully given up. He even knew that, despite what he found out, he would probably still try again at one point. But still, after finding out what she said to Makoto...

He knew, deep down, that the only reason she had said it was because of her distorted heart. He had watched their repaired relationship grow, seen Sae become the big sister that Makoto remembered. He knew that under the cold persona she showed, she really did care deep down.

Right now, none of that mattered.

"I'll tell you what I didn't do to her." he said, his voice low. "I never called her useless. I never said she ate away at my life."

Slowly, Sae sank back down into her chair, her glare hardening.

"You want to know why she joined us?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "She joined us because of you. She joined us because she wanted to prove that she wasn't useless, something that _you_ caused her to believe."

She reached over and slapped him.

"How dare you." she muttered, breathing heavily.

"How dare I? How dare you!" he yelled. "Even after all this time, even after everything she has helped us and those around her with, she _still_ believes she's useless because of you! She still believes that she will just ruin the lives of anyone she gets involved with! She was crying for over an hour when she told me what you said to her because she's afraid I'll get tired of her _ruining my life_ at some point! All because of you!"

This time, she didn't slap him. She punched him.

"We're done here." she snapped, picking up her files. "I'll enjoy watching as they drag you away after we find you guilty."

"Well, now I guess we really know who the useless one is, don't we." Akira said, smirking at her. He knew he lost this round. He knew everything would restart. He may as well have the final word. "It wasn't the little sister, slowly killing herself for her big sister. It was the big sister, eating away at the life of the little sister who is truly the useless one."

"Fuck you." Sae snapped, opening the door and storming out, slamming it behind her.

Akira sighed, trying to calm his mind. He knew Akechi would be there soon, and he needed to spend the short time he had remembering everything he did this time through. He knew he would need to copy it as close as possible in order to make sure he could try it again, in case something with how he went about things this time would get him out of this damn loop.

After a short time, the door opened and Akechi walked in with the guard. He took the gun and attached a suppressor before killing the guard. He turned and smirked at him.

"Have you finally pieced it all together?"

Akira sighed. He really didn't want to deal with Akechi.

"Yeah, yeah...you're the one causing the mental shutdowns. We've known for a long time now." he said, causing Akechi's smirk to fade. "You're Shido's bastard son. You plan on making sure he becomes Prime Minister so you can then tear him down, despite him already knowing and planning on having you killed once he's elected."

"How did..." he trailed off, a look of shock on his face.

"Look, can you hurry up and shoot me in the head?" Akira asked, looking up at him. "I have places to be."

He watched as Akechi lowered his gun, the look of shock still on his face. For a moment, Akira wondered if maybe this was supposed to happen. Maybe he was supposed to get Sae to leave, and then convince Akechi to join them. After all, nothing went wrong so far despite having revealed something he shouldn't know yet.

The shocked look on Akechi's face quickly turned to anger as he flung the table aside and shot him in the stomach three times. Akira cried out and fell from the chair, clutching his abdomen. Akechi shot him again the shoulder and the leg before reaching down, pulling him up by his hair.

"I have no idea how you learned all that." he said, completely dropping the Detective Prince persona. "I'm going to enjoy hunting down the rest of your friends. Though I guess I should thank you for informing me that Shido knows and plans on killing me first."

Akira opened his mouth to say something, but only blood dribbled out as Akechi put the gun up against the side of his head.

"I guess the guard was pretty useful in the end. We'll say he fought back, but you used your odd powers to overtake him. Knowing you were going to die, you decided to end it quickly."

He pulled Akira's head up to his, causing him to let out a scream.

"Case closed." he said with a smirk, squeezing the trigger as he looked him the eyes.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

No one on the subway paid attention as a young man in a school uniform let out sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There have been a lot of stories where Akira will tell Sae during the interrogation about Makoto's favorite sex positions, how many times they did it on Sae's bed, how many times they managed to do it in the apartment WHILE Sae was home working on a case, etc. However, very few actually deal with him commenting on what she said to Makoto. Her words lead to Makoto putting herself in a situation that, had the Phantom Thieves not followed her and had they not changed Kaneshiro's heart, would have ended with Makoto being forced into sex trafficking.
> 
> While not stated, I see this happening roughly ten to twelve loops through. Akira's seen Sae change multiple times. He's seen the healed relationship from the outside. He's spent two loops trying to get together with Sae. All of that, however, was done with no knowledge of just what Sae said to Makoto. When he finds out, it changes his opinion of her. He admits to himself that by the time another loop has passed he will most likely calm down. However, right now, everything is to raw for him.
> 
> Usually, whenever Akira brings it up to her in other writers' fics, she backs down out of guilt. Due to the time loop he is stuck in, however, he can afford to continue pressing it and let his anger for Makoto fully come out.


	6. The Usual Customer

It was his fourth time through when he first found out a secret about Haru.

It started on a late April day while walking into Untouchables to sell some of the random crap that they had found in Kamoshida's Palace. He really didn't need the money or any items from Iwai's shop at this point, since he found out that for some reason anything he had when riding the train back home was still with him when he snapped back to the train at the start of April. The yen he had would be in his wallet, and all the weapons and armor would be with his stuff in Leblanc.

Honestly, it made even less sense to him than being stuck in a one-year time loop.

 _Still though,_ he thought as he walked into Untouchables, _better to have more money than less money._

"You sure you only want the standalone?" he heard Iwai ask as he closed the door behind himself and turned around.

"Yes." Haru replied, smiling brightly. "I do understand the appeal of having it attached to an A2 platform M16, but I can always purchase an adapter if I want to install it on one at a later date."

...wait...

"True." he said, giving a small smirk he usually reserved for his die-hard enthusiast customers. "Granted, since this one is a quick-detach model, it'd be easier to mount on the rail of an M4 platform."

"I suppose that would work." she said, putting down the M203 grenade launcher with a standalone mount and turning to look at the rifles on the wall. "Can I see the green gas SOPMOD you have there?"

...why was...

"Sure." Iwai said, turning around and seeing Akira standing the doorway. "I'll be with you in a minute." he said to him, causing Haru to turn towards him.

"Oh!" she said, looking at him. "You're that transfer student, right?"

"Uh...yeah." he said, straightening up and bowing. "I'm Kurusu Akira."

"Okumura Haru." she said, nodding her head toward him. "Are you a gun enthusiast as well?"

"I...collect them, I guess you could say." he said, nodding slightly toward the handgun case. "I'm partial to handguns, personally."

"What do you have?" she asked, turning toward Iwai for a moment to take the rifle from him. She dropped the magazine and cleared it as if it was a real gun, finger off the trigger the entire time.

"My main is a custom Desert Eagle." he said, causing them both to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you customize your weapons?" she asked, the smile still on her face. She absentmindedly checked the rigidity of the rails on the rifle's handguard before nodding and turning back to Iwai. "I'll take this and the M203 with the standalone kit, please."

"Sure thing." he said, taking them and heading into the back room where Akira knew he kept the boxes.

"Yeah, I customize them." Akira replied, bring Haru's attention back to himself.

"That's something I would like to do." she said, her smile fading a bit. "However, this hobby is something of a secret." she continued before her eyes grew wide.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking a few steps forward before stopping himself.

"You...you won't tell anyone about this...will you?" she asked, a small bit of fear in her voice.

He could guess why she had the fear. If her father or her asshole of a fiancé found out she was buying fake guns as a hobby, well...

...it's not the type of thing a proper daughter to a politician and future wife to another politician's son should be doing.

"You won't tell anyone that I was here, will you?" he asked her back, smiling softly. "After all, people already think I'm some psychopathic murdering rapist animal abusing thief that likes to run with scissors. Probably wouldn't help much if it got out that I was in a place like this."

"So," she said, also beginning to smile softly, "mutually assured destruction?"

"Sounds good to me." he said, getting her to let out a small laugh. "Seriously, though. I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." she said, giving him a bright smile as Iwai walked back out with two boxes. "Oh, how much do I owe you, Iwai-san?"

"Forty-five thousand yen." he said, causing her to nod. She reached into her purse and pulled out the bills, counting them as she handed them over.

"Oh, before I forget!" she said, causing him to look back at her as he put the money in the till. "Have you managed to find out anything about a full-metal MGL?"

"Not yet." he said with a shake of his head. "I may have a line on getting one that's mostly ABS with some metal parts sometime late August or early September, but I can't find anyone who has a full-metal one that they're willing to let go of, even at the price you offered."

"Hmm..." she said, pouting slightly. "Well, see if you can get an ABS one for the moment. You can also add more money toward what I'm willing to offer for a full-metal one."

"Alright." he said, finishing with the till. "How much do you want to add?"

"I think an extra five hundred should do it." she said with a smile.

The only sound in the shop was the music playing in the background and the lollipop, falling out of Iwai's mouth, hitting the floor.

Akira was willing to bet that Haru did not mean a measly five hundred yen, or even dollars American.

"You sure?" Iwai asked after clearing his throat.

"Yes, an extra five hundred." she said with a nod of her head, the smile still on her face.

"Alright then." he replied, nodding his head. "I'll make sure word gets out."

"Thank you!" she said, giving him a smile before picking up the boxes. She turned and looked at Akira for a moment before smiling again. "It was nice to meet you as well, Kurusu-san."

"Likewise." he said, smiling as well. He walked over and opened the door for her, getting her to smile at him in thanks before walking out. She stopped in the doorway, however, and turned to look at him, a serious look on her face.

"I don't think the rumors about you are real." she said, holding eye contact with him.

"You don't?" he asked, looking into her eyes to see if there was any hint of lies or deceit.

"No." she said, smiling softly at him. "Well, I hope to see you again."

"I hope to see you again as well." he replied, giving her a small smile. "Maybe we'll meet again here?"

"Maybe." she said, her smile growing before she walked out. He stood there, watching as she skipped down the alley toward a waiting limousine.

"Hey, either chase after the girl and ask her out or come inside, but either way close the damn door." he heard Iwai say, breaking his trance. He shook his head and walked back inside, doing his best to ignore the slight blush on his cheeks, the small smirk on Iwai's face, and the faint sound of laughter coming from his school bag.

"Sorry." Akira said, walking up toward the counter.

"So, buying or selling?" Iwai asked, dropping the smirk.

As Akira put the random items from the Palace on the counter, he tried to focus on how Iwai didn't treat him the same way he treated gun enthusiast. The same way he treated Haru.

It looked like this early in the time loop, he wasn't the usual customer.

Haru was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's all be honest. No one would doubt a thing if Atlus came out and said that Haru was actually a regular customer at Untouchables during the course of the game and we just never run into her. Haru having an armory of airsoft guns is basically accepted as fanon at this point.


	7. For a Moment There, I Thought We Were in Trouble

"I'll give you one last chance." the Cognitive Akechi said, holding the real Akechi at gunpoint. "Shoot them"

The real Akechi gave a humorless laugh, muttering "I was such a fool."

Akira watched as he drew his handgun and aimed at him, just like what happened the previous time through. He wasn't afraid, though. So far, everything was the same as last time. That only meant that Akechi wouldn't kill him.

"Yes." Cognitive Akechi said, and evil and inhuman smile on his face. "That's the you our captain wishes to see."

"Don't misunderstand." Akechi said, the humorless laugh once again in his voice before he grit his teeth. "You're the one who's going to disappear!" he yelled, spinning around and shooting the Cognitive Akechi.

Akira knew what was coming next. He had thought long and hard about what happened, about why he was being forced to play through this sick game again. He wasn't allowed to change things that would alter the game, but he figured this would be the exception.

Akechi died last time. He would make sure he didn't die again.

He would do that, and get out of this time loop.

As he turned and shot the control the bulkhead door, Akira jumped forward, making sure he would on the same side. He pulled his gun and killed the Cognitive Akechi with one shot.

"The watertight bulkhead door has closed. All personnel within the partition wall, evacuate at once." the announcement came over the ship's PA system as the wall closed.

"Whoa, what is...Joker!" Oracle yelled.

"Joker! Akechi!" Skull yelled, banging on the partition wall.

Akechi was there, looking at Akira with disgust.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, glaring at him. "Do you want to die this badly?"

"We're both going home." Akira said, giving a firm nod of his head.

"You fools! Are you trying to get yourselves killed!?" Fox yelled.

"You fool." Akechi said, the glare not leaving his face. "You should have just abandoned me."

"Not happening." Akira replied.

"Akira!" Queen yelled, not bothering with his codename. "Akechi-kun!"

"You were supposed to remain with them." Akechi continued, the glare turning to almost look like sorrow. "You were supposed to change Shido's heart, to end his crimes."

"I will." Akira said firmly.

"You're going to die here with me!"

"No, I'm not." he said again, just as firmly. "We will get out of here, and we will _both_ change his heart."

"We will..." he muttered, looking at him before smirking. "Yes...we will."

"You have me helping you." Akira said, smiling. "We can take these Shadows with no problem."

"You helping me?" Akechi said, smirking as he stood up straight and aimed his gun at the Shadows. "I guess I was mistaken. For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble." he said sarcastically.

"Akira! Akechi-kun!" he hear Noir yell from the other side of the door as the Shadows, instead of turning into their normal selves, raised their guns at them.

Akira responded in kind and raised his as well.

"Isn't there some way to get this open, Mona!?" Panther yelled.

Akira smirked at the Shadows. They would win.

They were going to go home together.

They were going to change Shido's heart together.

He knew they would.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

As the people got off the train, no one paid attention to the student who sat there.

"Damn it." he said, a few tears leaking from his eyes.

"...damn you...Shido..."


	8. Time Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't believe in putting trigger warnings for every little thing in a story, but the subject matter for this one-shot are a few of the rare exceptions. Also, this chapter is REALLY pushing the "T" rating, and in all honesty has probably broken it. I'm not changing the rating of the story, but this chapter alone can honestly be considered to have an "M" rating. 
> 
> TW: rape; TW: suicide

He knew she would be up here.

Akira was standing on the roof, waiting for Shiho to come out and jump. If he was stuck repeating this past year for some reason, he was going to do everything in his power to help as many people as possible. He wished he knew the exact day that Kamoshida raped Shiho, so he could have tried to save her then. He didn't know, though. Once again, Shiho was forced to be raped again, something that was unforgivable. He hated that he couldn't at least convince Mishima to not listen to Kamoshida, to try and save Shiho that way.

_Seriously...fuck Mishima._

The door slowly opening pulled him out of his thoughts. He watched as Shiho walked out, her face stained with tears. Her eyes were puffy, with dark bags under them showing signs of having not slept. He noticed that she was walking carefully, as if moving to much hurt her. The look on her face was one of soul-crushingly broken defeat.

Seeing her that way only made his hate for Kamoshida to grow, as well as deep resentment and hatred toward Mishima to take root.

"Shiho." he said, stepping out into her field of view. She startled, jumping back against the wall as her face turned into one of fear.

"You're...you're...in Ann's class...right?" she said, her breathing quickly growing out of control.

"Yeah, I am." he said, not approaching her. "My name is Kurusu Akira. We met a few days ago, remember?"

"Ye...yeah." she said, slowly getting her breathing under control. "What are...why are you here?"

"I know what Kamoshida did to you." he said, causing her to flinch and look away. "I...I overheard him muttering to himself about it. I came up here to vent my frustrations about it." he lied.

"So...you know." she said softly, her voice monotone in defeat.

"You're planning on jumping, right?" he asked, causing her head to snap up and stare at him. "You don't have to do this. There are people who don't want you to jump."

"Like who?" she asked as tears started to bead up in her eyes. "My parents? They were thrilled when they heard an Olympic-class athlete took an interest in me. The teachers? They don't care about anything except what makes them look good. The principle? I'm sure he knows about Kamoshida. The perfect little student council president? Her head is so far up the principles ass that she may as well be a continuation of him." she continued, her voice rising as the tears started to fall.

"Shiho." he said softly, afraid to approach her and scare her even more.

"Do you think Kamoshida will care!?" she yelled, stepping away from the wall. "All he will see is a good little pocket pussy he can no longer fuck! He sure as hell won't care if I go splat! He'd probably jerk off to it later!"

"Then what about Ann!?" he yelled, getting her to stop. "Ann loves you. She would do anything for you. She does not want you to jump."

"...Ann..." she muttered, slowly collapsing to her knees. She hugged herself as she broke out into sobs. Akira stood there for a moment before slowly approaching her. He knelt down next to her and pulled her into a hug, causing her to start to fight him.

"You're safe." he said whispered, accepting the hits. "Kamoshida will never hurt you again, I swear."

"You can't promise that." she said, no longer bothering to try and fight him.

"Yes I can." he said, bringing his mouth next to her ear. "After class, head straight to our classroom. Ann will be with us, and she will do everything in her power to keep you safe. We're going to join Ryuji and walk over to an alleyway that is across from the school. Remember, Ann will be with you, and she will keep you safe, okay?"

"Ann will be with me." she repeated.

"That's right." he said. "Ann with be with you. What will she be doing?"

"She'll be keeping me safe."

"That's right." he said, rubbing small circles on her back. "We're going to go somewhere and we'll be seeing things that may scare both of you, but I promise that no harm will come to either of you. Once we get there, you will both gain the power to get revenge on Kamoshida."

"We'll get revenge?"

"Both you and Ann will." he replied, nodding his head against hers. "He will then confess with his own mouth every crime he has committed. He will confess to physically abusing and beating both volleyball teams, he will admit to purposely abusing the track team and being the one who started the incident where he broke Ryuji's leg, and he'll admit to every time he molested or raped one of his students."

"How do you know this?" she asked, curiosity slowly starting to take the place of the monotone in her voice.

"That I can't tell you." he said, pulling away from her to look her in eyes. Even though he still saw the pain, the horror, and the brokenness that was there since she was raped, he saw something else as well.

"After school...go get Ann...follow you...get revenge." she said, getting him to nod his head.

"That's right." he said, giving her a small smile.

"Okay." she said, turning her head to look at the ledge. "I came up here ready to die."

"I know."

"Kamoshida...he..." she started saying, trailing off.

"I know." Akira said, pulling her close again. "You don't have to say it."

"Why did he do that to me?" she asked, her voice breaking with fresh sobs.

"Because he's an egomaniac who believes his position allows him to get away with whatever he wants." he replied, once again rubbing soft circles on her back. "He sees this school as a castle, with himself as its ruling king." he muttered, getting her to let a single laugh between the sobs. She continued to cry as he held her, not letting go as her sobs slowly subsided.

"Hey...would you still...I mean..." she trailed off, lowering her head for a moment. "If someone you knew who was raped admitted they liked you as more than friend, what would you..." she trailed off again.

"If I also liked them as more than a friend, I would tell them I also liked them." he said firmly, getting her to look up at him. "If I only liked them as a friend, I would do my all best to let them down gently. Same as any other friend." he continued, pulling away to look her in eyes. "And I know Ann would give the same answer." he finished, getting Shiho to give him a small smile.

Slowly, they got up off the ground and he once again took a few steps back. "So, after school...?" he asked, trailing off.

"After school, I go get Ann." Shiho said, looking up at him. "Then we meet up with Sakamoto-kun, and somehow find a way to make Kamoshida confess everything."

"That's right."

"Okay." she said, taking a deep breath before once again looking toward the edge of the school roof. She closed her eyes and turned back to him, giving him a small smile. "Thank you."

"Any time." he said. She nodded her head toward him and made her way back to the door.

"There are other people besides Ann who don't want you to jump, you know." he said, causing her to stop and turn back to look at him. "Ryuji, he wouldn't want you to jump. Your parents, they don't want you to jump. Some of the teachers, they really do care. Even Ma...Nijima-senpai would not want you to jump. And I don't want you to jump."

"Thank you." she said again, a few new tears leaking from her eyes. She took a deep breath and wiped them away before looking back at him. "After school?"

"After school." he confirmed. She nodded and walked back into the school.

Her eyes still showed the pain, the horror, and the brokenness of what had been done to her. He knew they would probably show that in some form for the rest of her life, a crime that no amount of diving into Mementos would ever be able to heal. But her eyes also showed a new emotion.

Hope.

"Your days are numbered, Kamoshida." Akira said, reaching to pull out his phone and contact Ryuji to give him the update.

His body and the world around him freezing in place was the first sign something went horribly wrong.

" **THIS IS NOT PART OF THE GAME.** " a voice resounded around and inside him.

_Game?_

" **HER INVOLVMENT IS NOT PART OF THE GAME. HER FATE IS WRITTEN IN STONE. IT CANNOT BE UNDONE.** "

_Yaldabaoth!_

" **I AM NOT YALDABAOTH. YALDABAOTH IS BUT ONE OF MY PAWNS. YALDABAOTH IS BUT ONE INSIGNIFICANT PIECE OF THE GAME. SAME AS HER. SAME AS YOURSELF.** "

_Who are you!?_

" **YOU ARE NOT TO INTERFEER WITH HOW THE GAME PLAYS OUT. THOSE WHO HAVE A FATE WRITTEN IN STONE CANNOT HAVE IT BE CHANGED.** "

_We can change fate! Nothing is written in stone!_

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

Akira sat in his seat, his head down. He felt himself shaking as tears started to fall.

"Fuck!" he yelled, causing those around him to look in shock.

"...Shiho..." he muttered, lowering his head again.

He couldn't save her.

"...I'm sorry..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hardest part about being stuck in a time loop would be, in my opinion, being unable to fix things that are set in stone. In Persona 5, Shiho HAS to be raped. She HAS to jump off the roof trying to kill herself. These are absolutes that cannot be changed because said events are what lead Akira and Ryuji to finally agree that the possibility of killing Kamoshida should things go wrong is now worth it. Akira tried to save her, and got reset back to the beginning.
> 
> That being said, I may take this and somewhere down the line use it as an opening to another story where Shiho joins the Phantom Thieves, minus the time loop aspects. We'll see how that goes.


	9. Dinner and a Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the OVA shows the date taking place on February 14, however for timing and to make it work with this fic I'm pushing it back a day. Also, has some Third Semester spoilers for P5R, including major endgame spoilers about the last Palace.

Once again, it was Valentine's Day. Just like every loop before, he helped out Sojiro around Leblanc, having come to the conclusion several loops ago that Valentine's Day had more traffic than the rest of year combined. Granted, he had zero intention of ever bringing that up with Boss. Even if that was the way out of this loop, he'd rather spend an eternity trapped in it than risk saying that.

Then again, just like Maruki told him, it's not like he'd have long to wait to find out if he screwed up something.

The male members of the Phantom Thieves had already left for the evening, promised a nice meal and tips on getting a girlfriend by Boss. They had been a bit concerned when he had shrugged off, claiming to be tired after working a long shift right after getting out of solitary. Eventually, though, they relented and left the store in his care, with Boss switching the sign on the door to "CLOSED" on his way out.

He made himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the bar, slowly drinking it. He let his mind wander to everything that had happened over the past...fifteen years now? Sixteen? Fourteen? He sighed and shook his head, putting the coffee back down on the saucer. He had lost complete track of how long it had been since he started this nightmare.

A small knock on the door brought his attention back to the present. He turned his head, wondering if he should tell whatever couple had shown up that the sign they were ignoring said the cafe was closed or if he should serve them and make Boss some more money. Instead, he saw Sae standing there, bundled in a long coat and smiling softly. He stood up and walked over, unlocking the door to let her in.

"Sae. Welcome." he said as he opened the door. She nodded to him as she walked in. He closed the door and locked it behind her. "Can I get you anything? On the house, considering at best I'd still be sitting in solitary and at worst in a freezer had it not been for you."

"I'll have a cup of whatever you're having." she said, nodding toward his drink. He walked around the bar and began to pour her coffee as she sat down in the seat next to his.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked, looking up at her before going back to his coffee prep.

"With what the day is, I was hoping for some peace and quiet." she replied as he put the cup of coffee in front of her. She picked it up and inhaled the fumes from it before taking a sip, letting out a small sigh after swallowing. "I figured Leblanc would be the best place for that."

"It's a good thing I like you." he said, turning away to walk out from behind the bar. "Boss gave me orders to throw out anyone who says anything that implies Leblanc is always empty."

"Is...is that so." she said, giving a nervous laugh. He turned and started walking back to his seat, noticing a slight hit of red of her cheeks.

_Is she...blushing?_

"Yeah." he said, sitting back down and taking a drink from his cup of coffee. "That was right after being given the order to kick out anyone who claims that instant coffee is better than his coffee. So far, I've only heard of one couple who would probably say that. No idea when or if they will ever come here, though."

"So...with today being Valentine's and all," she started, clearing her throat slightly, "I figured you would be with someone here. After all, you mentioned quite a few women during your interrogation."

"Yeah, I did." he said, looking back down toward his cup. "They're all great people. I just never really got the vibe that they were all that interested in me."

That was, obviously, a lie. He knew all of his female confidants would gladly go out with him, even Ann. Hell, Haru and Sumire outright confessed to him first. He just, in a way, wanted a break from them. He wanted a year to try and reset, to see what he could try and change next to end this loop, especially after the living Hell that came with Maruki's offer the last two times through. If that meant he went a loop while being single, so be it.

"I don't know if you'd be interested, but..." she trailed off, getting him to look at her. Her cheeks were red as she was looking away from him. He couldn't believe it. She really was blushing. "I...have two tickets to an opera for tomorrow." she continued, looking over at him. "I was wondering if you would like to come with me."

_Is...is Sae asking me out on a..._

"Of course, I'd understand if you would prefer not to go." she said quickly, turning back to her coffee. "It must seem strange, I'm sure. I don't even fully understand it myself, why I'm...attracted...to you."

"Why me?" he asked, getting her to look at him.

"Honestly?" she asked rhetorically. "You're maturity. You seem much older than your age says. During the interrogation, the meetings, even when I asked you to turn yourself in, you acted with a maturity that those twice your age hardly ever show. Even those twice _my_ age rarely show such maturity."

_Well,_ he thought bitterly, _I guess it helps that mentally I'm twice my current age._

Still, despite trying to have this happen for two loops, he knew he had to pick his words carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was have her run off on him.

"So...let me just confirm something." he said, taking a sip of his quickly cooling coffee before turning to look back at her. "You're...asking me on a date, correct?" he asked. Sae blushed slightly before nodding her head.

"Yes." she said firmly. "I know I really shouldn't, since you're still a minor and I was your defense attorney, but..." she trailed off, looking away for a moment. She took a deep breath before turning to look back at him. "Honestly, I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't ask."

"I'll do my best to not embarrass you." he said, smiling. "It'll be my first opera, after all."

"So you'll go with me?" she asked, a smile starting to spread on her face as well.

"Yes." he answered. She smiled at him before reaching into her bag. She pulled out a box of chocolates with an opera ticket being held by the ribbon. He noticed it was the same box of chocolates that she always gave him the day after Valentine's Day.

Was this all he really needed to do to go out with her? Not date anyone and spend Valentine's Day alone in Leblanc? Was it really that simple?

"I...I got these for you." she said, placing them on the table. "I know they're store-bought, but..."

"Thank you." he said, taking them with a smile.

"I should be going." she said, standing up. She looked at him for a moment before bending down to kiss him quickly. "I'll meet you there tomorrow." she said, turning to hide the blush on her face as she walked over and unlocked the door, heading out into the cold.

For his part, Akira sat there looking shocked. As his brain slowly started to reboot, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. It rang a few times before being picked up.

"Yeah, Kid?" Sojiro's asked.

"Hey Boss...I need some help." he said, a smile spreading across his face at the thought of what he was about to say. "I have a date tomorrow at the opera."

"The opera!?" he heard him say aloud. "I didn't even know you were dating anyone. Who are you going with?"

"Sae." he replied. There was silence on the other end for a moment before he heard Sojiro laugh.

"Good one, Kid."

"I'm serious, Boss." he said, turning to look at the chocolates again. "She showed up with chocolates for me and everything."

"So she asked you?"

"Yeah, she did." he replied again.

"...hoo boy..." Sojiro said, the amusement still in his voice. "Alright. Tomorrow, Leblanc is opening late. First thing in the morning, we're going and getting you something respectable to wear to the opera. I'll be damned if a kid of mine goes to a high-class event looking like a punk."

"Thanks Boss." he said, before realizing just what Sojiro had said. "Wait. A kid of yours?"

"I mean...well..." Sojiro said, stammering. "Don't read too much into it. You're my ward, so I'm technically in charge of you. Same as Futaba. Just because I say you're a kid of mine doesn't mean you get to read too much into it. Got it?"

"Hey Boss, what about us!?" he heard Ryuji ask. "You're helping us just like we're your kids as well."

"I guess the same goes for all of you punks as well." he replied with an exaggerated sigh. "Jeez, Kid, it was hard enough to keep up with one when she was shut-in. Between her coming out of her shell and you helping to wear me down, I've grown soft."

"Thank you, Sojiro." Akira said sincerely. "Honestly, you're more a father than my real father."

"You damn punk." he said softly. "Anyways, tomorrow morning. We will make sure you have the best tuxedo possible to help woo your Ms. Prosecutor."

"Wait, fo'real!?" he heard Ryuji yell. "He has a date with Queen's sister!?"

"They would make a striking pair together." he heard Yusuke say, adding his thoughts.

"Just make sure you don't stay up to late, got it?" Sojiro said, getting Akira to let out a laugh.

"I'll make sure." Akira said, smiling. "See you tomorrow, Dad."

"You damn punk." he said again, even softer than last time. "See you tomorrow, Kid."

As Akira hung up, he waited a moment.

As that moment turned into a minute, he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Nothing reset.

He really did have a date with Sae tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As my sister can attest, I was hoping there would be an option to date Sae in P5R. I know there was one they were working on for vanilla P5 that was scrapped, and was honestly hoping that their adding her to the "A Magical Valentine's Day" OVA meant that she was being added as one for the game. Obviously, that didn't happen.


	10. Hope

Ten loops.

He had gone through ten loops so far.

As he spent the evening working in Leblanc, he tried not to really think about what that meant. He tried not to think about how he should be in his mid to late twenties right now. He tried not to think about how he couldn't even remember what his parents looked like or sounded like, seeing as they never contacted him nor answered his calls. He tried not to think about his inability to save the lives of those whom have had them destroyed.

In all honesty, he just tried not to think, having grown numb to everything that has happened. The rest of the Phantom Thieves thought he was a power-house. He would enter a new Palace and complete the thing in one day. He would one-shot the most powerful of Shadows, save the Palace Rulers. Once done, he would then simply exist. He never did anything of note, save run through a new Palace.

The bell of jingling as the door opened pulled him from his inner thoughts and back into reality.

"Good evening. Welcome to Leblanc." he said, giving a soft smile as Sojiro has instructed all those loops ago.

"Good evening." the customer said, walking over to the bar and sitting down. "I'll have a Blue Mountain, black."

"Right away." Akira said, nodding his head once before turning to get the beans from behind him.

"This is a nice place." the customer said, looking around the cafe. "Very quiet. Kind of out the way as well."

"That it is." he replied, starting to grind the coffee beans.

"I should try and convince my wife to come." the customer continued, turning back to Akira. "Granted, I'm sure as soon as it came out she was here, this place would be swamped with customers."

"I'm sure the owner would like that." Akira said, moving over to start pouring the coffee. "At least, I think he would like that. I'm still not fully convinced that he doesn't enjoy the quiet and emptiness sometimes."

"A lot of people would take away from the aesthetics of the place." the customer said, picking up the cup of coffee after Akira sat it down. He blew on it softly before taking a sip. "Much better than instant."

"The first thing the owner said to me after allowing me to make coffee for the customers was to kick anyone who said instant was better out." Akira said, causing the customer to let out a small laugh.

"My best friend and his fiancée would probably be two of those who would say that." the customer said, setting the coffee back down. "I'll make sure they try and keep their mouths shut should I bring my friend group here one day."

The customer sat, silently drinking his coffee after that. Akira stayed behind the bar, doing the work Sojiro requested be done by the end of the night. He felt something was...different...about this customer, but he couldn't figure out what it could be. After a few minutes, he noticed the customer stand up, leaving a thousand yen next to the cup. Akira picked it up and went to make change, only for the customer to wave him off.

"You can keep the change." he said, getting Akira to nod. "I'll need to bring my wife back here sometime after the new year." he continued, looking Akira in the eyes. "Sometime after you get past March 20th."

"What?" Akira asked, looking into the man's eyes, as grey as his hair in an old bowl cut.

"I know it's hard." the man said, nodding at him. "I know you may feel like giving up. I did as well, a long time ago. But you'll find a way out of it."

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to keep his breathing under control. "How do you know all this?"

"You can call me Yu." he said, giving him a small smile. He turned and started to walk out of the coffee shop.

"Wait!" Akira yelled, running out from behind the counter. "What do you mean you've been through this before!? How do I get out of it!?"

The man, Yu, opened the door and turned to look at him.

"Just know that we always supported you, and always will, Mr. Phantom Thief. Even when everyone else turned against you, we still supported you." Yu said, getting another look of shock to spread across Akira's face. "I'll see you around, Wild Card."

With that, Yu walked out of Leblanc, the door closing behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original idea I had for a time-loop one-shot was based on Persona 4. The idea for the fic was very dark and followed a mentally unstable Yu, who had gone through so many loops that the thought of killing a teammate in order to reset the loop back a week doesn't faze him. He would have been given a journal from Igor to allow him to keep track of each loop. He end up going down a path he knew would lead to the loop being reset? Run a member of the Investigation Team thru with a sword and go back a week to try a different option.
> 
> Anyways, the Yu in this fic is more mentally stable. He knows what Akira has been through, he knows time is being reset, and has a way to mark each reset without remembering the year that passed. His only goal here it to offer something to the current Wild Card that no one could offer him: hope.
> 
> Also, as a PSA: The next chapter will contain MASSIVE ENDGAME SPOILERS for P5R. If you have not yet beat the game and somehow managed to avoid spoilers, give the next chapter a skip until you have finished it.


	11. Throw Away Your Mask, Akira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MASSIVE ENDGAME SPOILERS for P5R. If you have not yet beaten P5R and managed to somehow not be spoiled, understand that this WILL spoil the ending of the game. This chapter LITERALLY TAKES PLACE after the final boss. You have been warned.

"I'm done. I get it now. All thanks to you."

Akira looked over at Maruki, lying on the glass-like step of his Palace. They had just won, and the world was currently being reset to how it was supposed to be, just like before. He would soon wake up in solitary confinement. Akechi would go back to being a memory. All the good the Phantom Thieves accomplished would simply go back to being a rumor, except for those who knew the truth.

"I thought you would join me." Maruki continued, causing Akira to snap his gaze toward him. He never said that line before.

"What are you talking about?"

"When I saw your desires, your dreams, your wishes...they all stemmed to one central hope." he replied, turning his head to look at him. "The hope to get out of this time-loop."

_What!?_

"How do you know that?"

"Azathoth showed me your past attempts." he replied, giving a hollow smile. "It showed me all your past times trying to save those around you, the times you died, the times you lost faith. It also showed me that you gained hope this time."

"Yu."

"Yes." Maruki continued. "I looked into him as well. His name is Narukami Yu, husband of Kujikawa Rise. He went through something similar to yourself back in 2011, trying to track down a murderer in a small town in the Yamanashi Prefecture."

"Then tell me how he escaped it." Akira said, taking a step forward. "Tell me how I can escape it!"

"Had you taken my offer," Maruki started, turning to look back up at the falling snow, "you would have been free form it."

"Free from that, but stuck in your false world." he muttered, his voice still loud enough for Maruki to hear. "That's what you mean."

"Is my world such a nightmare?" Maruki asked, turning to look back at Akira. "You would be free from these endless loops. Your friends would get the dreams they wish for. Even the one who came before you would get the dream he wishes for, a world where his wife and he can be open and have a family without public scorn. How can you fight against that?"

"Because that world is fake!" Akira yelled, snapping at him. "It's a false reality!"

"You'll never know if you don't try." he said as the glass started to crack. The glass broke apart, causing him to fall as Akira ran up and grabbed his hand. Maruki slowly looked up at him, a defeated look on his face.

"Come on..." he muttered, looking into Akira's eyes. "I said I'm done. Please...let go of my hand."

"It's not going to end this way." he replied, holding his grip. He knew he saves him. He knew that Maruki knows he saves him. That still didn't make holding him any easier. "You know it doesn't end this way."

"What if letting me go is what you need to do in order to break free from this time loop?"

"Then I'll continue reliving this until I find another way to break it." Akira snapped back, squeezing his hand tighter. "Akechi's dead. Haru's father's dead. Futaba's mother's dead. I refuse to let anyone else die if I can save them."

"Your eyes really are as bright and honest as ever." Maruki said, smiling sadly. "Even when we had changed how this plays out, they are still so bright and honest. Please, try my way next time. If it doesn't work, whatever sick game is being played will simply be reset once again."

"...alright..." Akira said, closing his eyes. "If this variation causes everything to reset again...if I can't find any other way...I'll try your way."

As he heard the Monacopter approaching, Akira realized that he had never before hoped that he was on the correct path to escape this time loop nightmare like he did as he said those words.


	12. You Can't Go Home

So far, everything was happening just like before. It was all the same as he remembered, like the worst case of deja vu imaginable. Everything froze in Shibuya, he had seen a flaming Arsène appear before him, the Metanav was back on his phone. He had checked as soon as he saw the eye looking back at him. All the Palaces that they had taken down were back. Mementos was back.

Somehow, everything had been reset.

He tried to enter any of the Palaces or Mementos, only to receive an error claiming the service was not available. He had almost thrown his phone at that point. Seeing the Palaces there taunting him was almost a joke. It was insulting him. They were right there, just out of his touch.

He thought things through during his ride and walk to Leblanc, trying to come to terms with what was happening.

All the Palaces were back.

Mementos was back.

He also had almost half a million yen in his wallet, the same amount he had when he left Tokyo only a few hours ago.

So far, everything was identical to how it happened when he first arrived back last April, just with the added bonus of having a lot more yen on him.

Slowly, he found himself in front of Leblanc, his second home. The older couple who had been there when he first showed up had just walked out, nodding to him as they passed him. He took a deep breath and wondered if maybe Sojiro would remember what had happened. Maybe if they saw him they would remember everything that happened, and together they could work out a solution to fix everything.

"That's what happens in anime, at least." he muttered to himself as he opened the door, trying to ignore the fact that he couldn't think of a single one where that happened off the top of his head.

Inside, everything was the same as it had been when he first arrived last April. The coffee cups and the money from the old couple were sitting on the booth that had been sitting at. The TV was on, talking about an accident on the subway. The wall to his right was missing the _Sayuri_. Everything was the same.

And then there was Sojiro, standing at the bar working on a crossword.

"Boss." Akira said, getting his attention. Sojiro looked at him for a moment in confusion before a spark of understanding appeared in his eyes. Akira felt his heart start to beat fast. Sojiro had to know. He _had_ to know.

"Oh, right." Sojiro said, folding the paper and throwing it back on the counter. "That was today."

"Boss?" Akira asked, getting him to raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's what people call me." Sojiro said testily, looking at him. "Did someone on the street tell you to call me that?"

Akira started to open his mouth, to tell him what happened, but couldn't. He closed his mouth before trying again, only to find something physically stopping him. Sojiro continued looking at him for a moment before sighing, shaking his head.

"Are you done gawking?" he asked, getting him to close his mouth again. "I'm Sakura Sojiro. I'll be in charge of you during your probation, got it?"

"Yes." he said, trying to keep his voice even.

"Understand that I'm running a business here, got it?" he continued, walking into the middle of the walkway. "If you cause any trouble, you try and steal from the till or mess with anything behind the counter, I'll throw you out on your ass in a heartbeat, got it?"

"Yes."

"Good." he said, walking toward the attic. "Follow me." he said, not even bothering to look over his shoulder. Akira mechanically walked behind him, trying to keep his face neutral. He knew if his mask slipped now, Sojiro would probably give him hell. He followed the man up to the attic, into what over the last year he had made into his home.

Instead, the attic was once again a dust-covered mess, with his boxes in the center of the room.

... _boxes?_

"You'll be staying here." Sojiro said, turning to look at him. "It may not be much, but there are reasons I cannot let you stay in my house."

"It's spacious." he said, straining to keep his voice even.

"Anyways, your things are here." he said, pointing down toward the boxes. "You can clean up in here if you want." Sojiro said, turning back toward the stairs. "You can use the restroom if you need, but stay out of the cafe during working hours, got it."

"I understand."

"Good." Sojiro said, walking back down the stairs. Akira stood there for a moment before walking toward the boxes in the center of the room. He opened the box he did not recognize, only to stand there in numb shock. Inside, was the armor and weapons for the Phantom Thieves, along with various medical items and the gifts his friends and confidants had given him once he left.

Slowly, he made his way over to the bed and sat down, looking out into the room.

He knew Sojiro cared.

He knew the man only put on a tough-guy act.

He knew he did it in order to protect Futaba.

He _knew_ Sojiro cared.

It still didn't stop the tears that finally fell from how the man who had quickly become a father to him had treated him.


	13. Don't Fear the Reaper

"Joker, we should probably move on." he heard Mona say after they took down a shadow. He didn't reply as he simply walked up and took the paltry amount of yen the shadow dropped. He noticed that Mona was getting more and more afraid as time went on, as well as noticed that even Skull and Panther were starting to get antsy. He paid it no mind, knowing that even if he wasn't getting much from these battles with the cannon fodder, at least they were.

The sound of rattling chains finally drew his attention, followed the sound of Mona turning back into the Monamobile. He smirked, reaching up to switch his mask.

It had taken eight times through in order to prepare for this.

He had finally maxed out his Compendium.

"Uh...Joker, we should probably get out of here." Panther called after him. He turned to look at them as she opened the door of the Monamobile. Skull pushed her inside before turning to look at him as well.

"Dude, let's get out of here!"

"You guys can go and hide." he said, his smirk never leaving his face. "I got this."

"Joker, that's suicide!" Mona yelled through the stereo as the Reaper appeared.

"Don't worry." he said, pulling his knife and running up to it. "I got this."

"Akira!" Ann yelled, dropping his codename as he slashed the Reaper, getting its attention. He jumped back, feeling the strange ball of red yarn up his attacks. He never once dropped the smirk as he reached up and pulled off his mask.

"Satanael!" he yelled, unleashing his true power. The large persona, not near as large as it was when he first summoned it, appeared behind him dwarfing the already large Reaper. "Riot Gun!"

The silence that followed the loud explosion from the attack was louder than the explosion. Joker felt his smirk grow as the Reaper faded away into a black ooze, leaving behind another orb and a large sum of cash. He walked up to it brazenly as Satanael returned to his mask and kneeled down to pick them up.

"Dude...what the hell was that?" he heard Skull say behind him. He stood up after collecting what he needed and turned to face his fellow Phantom Thieves, enjoying the look on their faces.

"Joker..." Mona started, trailing off for a moment. "The was the strong Shadow that I warned you guys about."

"You beat it with one attack." Panther said, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Well, it wasn't as hard as Mona made it out to be." he said, shrugging slightly, the smirk never leaving his face. "Think we should find another one?"

"No!" the team yelled, causing him to chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretending for a moment that you could somehow find a way to get Satanael to have Cripple on it to gain +50% Gun damage, plus using an accessory to cast an Auto-Tarujaku to increase your base Attack, and assuming Satanael is at lvl.99 with all stats maxed out, I still don't think you could one-shot the Reaper in the game. Nevertheless, nothing says "Don't fear the Reaper" more than being able to one-shot it.


	14. Pancakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had no beta - We die like Akechi's soul every time he hears "pancakes."

"So, should we go for our usual post-Palace meal?" Yusuke asked, absently framing a random couple as they made their way from the courthouse. It had been another successful day infiltrating Sae's Palace, due in no part to Akira having ran it a half-dozen times now. He admitted to himself that they had no need to take so long to do it, knowing that the only delay was Sae accepting they had a right to be inside the courtroom in order to proceed. However, he also couldn't deny that there may just be a hint to winning the prosecutor's heart on a romantic level hidden away inside her Palace.

He could dream and hope, at least.

"Oh, I know!" Ann said, getting their attention. "There's a new place I found that does gourmet pancakes!"

"Seriously?" Ryuji asked, looking at her. "I have no idea how the hell you manage to stay so thin."

"Screw you, Ryuji!" she snapped, stomping her foot at him. "I just have a high metabolism."

"And that's not going to last you forever." he said, looking her up and down. "I mean, yeah, right now you have a killer bod' and all, but all that sugar and sweets crap you keep eating are going to come back to bite you one day when you wake up fat."

"Do I need to separate you two...again?" Makoto asked with a tired voice before their argument could really break out. They both looked at her with no small amount of fear as she turned to look at Ann. "While he may lack tact, Ryuji has a point, Ann. Just because you have a high metabolism now does not mean you can eat whatever you want without repercussions. And as for you, Ryuji." she continued, turning to face him. "I understand that you are only saying these things because you care for her wellbeing, but you also don't have much room to talk. Your usual diet isn't that much more well balanced than hers."

"Yeah, well-"

"Did I give you permission to speak?" Makoto snapped, her voice giving off a deadly vibe. Based on how quickly both Ryuji and Ann paled, Akira figured she was giving him the infamous "Nijima Glare" that he had been subject to during his third time through when he dated Makoto, as well as being subjected to Sae's every single time through.

"No, Queen." Ryuji said, standing at attention.

"I'm sure you were going to say something along the lines of how your constant physical activates and workouts allow you to eat ramen on an almost daily basis." she continued, going back to her normal voice. "Going by the logic you base your diet on, can not the same be said for now? We constantly use more energy than a normal human ever would. Speaking honestly, even I've found myself cheating on my usual diet more and more often as the enemies and the Palaces get harder to deal with. Going out for pancakes right now isn't going to cause any harm."

"And Ryuji once again shows that his proper place will always be under a strong woman's thumb." Futaba muttered, getting Akira to have to bite back a laugh.

"Well, let's go get some pancakes, then." Akira said, getting the group to nod their heads in agreement. As they made their way, he noticed Akechi walk up next to him.

"Are they always like that?" he asked, nodding toward the group walking in front of them.

"Sometimes." he replied, giving an easy smile. "This is one of their better days."

"I...see..." he trailed, off, looking at him.

"So Akechi-kun, I'm sure you're going to love this place." Ann said, turning to look back at him. "They even have a set named in your honor."

"Is that so." he said, his usual fake smile on his face. "In that case, I'd be remised to not order it and try it out, if it was named in my honor."

Hidden from Akechi's view, Akira let a small smirk spread across his face. He knew how much the fake detective hated sweets, and pancakes in general. He knew that he only ate at those places because his fan-girls seemed to believe he loved them, and he always was an attention whore.

Telling the rest of the Phantom Thieves the truth about Akechi's hatred of pancakes, thus convincing them to always go get them after a mission while the murderer was with them, was one of the best decisions he had ever made.


	15. Dethroning a Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta - We die like all non-time-looping challengers to the Togo Kingdom.

He sat in the church, trying not to laugh at the look on the face of the girl sitting across from him. He watched as her eyes roamed the board sitting between them for what must have been the hundredth time, trying to find where she messed up, trying to find a way out of the predicament she was in.

"I believe knowing when to concede defeat is a sign of grace, is it not?" Akira asked, trying to keep the humor out of his voice. She looked up at him and gave him a glare. It wasn't as powerful as the Nijima sisters could give, but it still caught him off guard. That last time he saw that glare on her was during one his previous runs where he decided to go for a harem.

He still had nightmares about what the girls did to him.

"Are you for real?" she asked, catching him even more off guard. He knew that the phrase "for real" was said by many people, but when the Phantom Thieves went out of their way to not say it least they be compared to Ryuji, it had been a long time since he heard someone else say it. "You said you only had a little experience playing shogi. This," she snapped, waving her hand over the board, "isn't a 'little' bit of experience."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure I gave you a decent game to practice." he said, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him. "I mean, if you want someone who will constantly lose to you, I can have my friend Ryuji come and lose...I mean play...against you. He'd probably lose as quickly to you as you did to me." he finished nonchalantly.

"Still, this shows that you have a lot more experience than just a bit." she muttered, looking back at the board. "In shogi, the more moves ahead you can see the better your chances of winning."

"A lot of things are like that."

"But this game..." she trailed off, looking up at him. "You weren't seeing moves ahead of me, so much as you had already seen how the game would play out."

"Well, uh..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Technically, she wasn't wrong. It had seen how this game normally played out at least twelve...thirteen times by now.

"We must play again." she said, moving to reset the board. He watched her for a second before helping to reset his side as well. "You have managed to do something that has not happened in quite a long time. You managed to dethrone the Queen of the Togo Kingdom. That insolence cannot go unchallenged."

"I wish you luck in removing the Joker who usurped it." he said, giving her a smirk worthy of Joker.

"I have no doubt that I will." she said, looking up at him with a rare smirk on her face. It almost caught him as off guard as hearing the words "for real" come out of her mouth. "After all, you outright admitted you would send your friend as a sacrifice to face me with no regards for what would happen to him."

"Yeah, well, to be fair you'd probably beat him in seven moves." he said, moving out his first piece to start the game. "He's the kind of person who would believe you only win once you have captured every one of your opponent's pieces."

"So he has no knowledge of shogi?" she asked, making her first move as well. Akira was honestly surprised she was talking normally while playing.

"I mean, I guess he might?" he replied, somehow turning it into a question. "To be fair, I think my friend group would have a collective heart attack if he did."

"Then maybe I will take your discarded pawn and train him into a knight worthy of the Togo Kingdom." she said, putting on a haughty look. "With his help, we will overthrow the pretender to the throne who thinks so lowly of his men."

"I guess we'll have to see how that goes, then." he replied with a smirk.

Hifumi teaching Ryuji how to play shogi.

That could be entertaining to watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lets all be honest. If you have seen the same game play out a dozen times, you've spent a dozen years training against the same opponent, all while said opponent NEVER gains more experience, you would eventually beat them with no effort. That is why the Togo Kingdom has fallen to the Phantom Thief Joker's Thieves Guild. What remains to be seen is if the Immortal Dragon Guard will accept his role as a sacrifice for the usurping leader Joker, or will the beautiful Queen of the Togo Kingdom manage to convince him to aid her.
> 
> There were a few shot-outs to vivvav's Confidant Roulette chapter 6, where the idea of Ryuji/Hifumi was born. It's one of those rare-pairs that, when you honestly think about it, you can really see working. Is this leading to that? No idea.
> 
> Maybe.
> 
> Probably.


	16. Solitary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again no beta - We die like a time-looper's concept of time.

For most people, being locked in solitary confinement would be a nightmare. His first time through, when he woke up from the fake world only to find himself in solitary, only proved that. Though he only had memory of a week and a half of his time in solitary, his body had shown all the signs of being stuck in it. He was malnourished, complete with his muscles having lost definition.

That first time through was ten years ago, now.

Compared to everything else he had gone through, he now relished this week and a half of being locked in solitary. It allowed him to review the year he had spent in peace. He could process what changes he made, and more importantly what changes he could still make in order to try and escape this nightmare.

He knew solitary confinement was a true nightmare. He would never argue against that. However, after reliving the same year ten times with no idea how, or even _if_ , he could escape, well...

...solitary had nothing on that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this one did not go at all like I had originally planned. It comes down to a matter of perspective for Akira. Yes, solitary confinement sucks, but ten days of it pales in comparison to have to relive the same year ten times in a row.
> 
> Anyways, this series of one-shots and drabbles will go on for a total of forty-five chapters. They are planned out and ready to be written, and I hope to continue posting one a day through to the end. After Chapter Forty-five is posted, I may still come back and add chapters at random if an idea strikes, but the story will end at that point.


	17. Last Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally didn't steal...I mean procure this idea from a comment SetantaUntouchable left on Chapter 6. There is no evidence that can be found. I totally didn't change the metadata of the file on my computer to say otherwise.
> 
> Also, this chapter might be touching on an "M" rating again.

It was a few days after Valentine's Day when Akira first visited Haru at her home. He didn't really know why she had called him over, only that she had something she wanted to ask him. When he asked about it over the phone, she refused to answer, claiming it was something that needed to be done in person. After promising Morgana fatty tuna if he agreed to spend the day with Futaba, Akira had made his way to a part of Tokyo he had never been before. Haru met him at the entrance to make sure he got in, and together they made their way to her room.

"So," he started once they reached her room, "what was this super secret thing you wanted me to come over for?"

"Is it wrong if I want to spend time with you?" she asked, causing him to smile.

"Only if it's wrong that I want to spend time with you." he replied, causing her to let out a small laugh.

"Well, there was something I wanted to do with you." she said, smiling at him. "It's something I wanted to do for some time. The fact that I can try it with someone I love only makes it that much better."

Akira felt his mind come to a halt at what she said.

It had to be something innocent. Just like Makoto's text message about leaving the backdoor open for him, it was just strange wording.

Right?

"Umm...Haru..." he trailed off, clearing his throat and trying to shake the perverted thoughts that entered his head. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just like I said, I wanted you to help me with something." she said, still smiling. "I've never done it before, but I figured it would be something we would both enjoy doing."

_Does she seriously mean...?_ Akira thought, shaking his head slightly.

"Well...who am I to say no?" he asked, causing her smile to widen.

"Thank you!" she replied, putting her hands together in front of her chest. "Now, here's what I would like to do."

-

"So...you're sure it will fit?" Haru asked, the uncertainty and nervousness evident in her voice.

"Of course I'm sure." Akira replied, his voice full of confidence. "I've done this plenty of times, you know."

"I'm glad my first time doing this is with someone that has a lot of experience, then." she said, the nervousness in her voice subsiding some. "Still, it looks too big to fit."

"Again, trust me." Akira said, his voice going soft. "I'm done this before. It may be difficult at first, but once I get started, it'll go in easy."

"Okay. I trust you." she said, causing Akira to laugh slightly.

"You ready to start?"

"I..." she trailed off for a moment. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. "I'm ready."

"Okay. I'm going to put it in now." Akira said.

Slowly, he brought the armor's hammer down on the pin of the Milkor's trigger assembly, starting to drive it in.

"You see, you want to start off with slower hits to make sure the pin starts feeding correctly into the frame." he said, turning to look at her. "Otherwise, you can bend the pin and be forced to source out a new one. Considering these full metal conversion kits are a niche item for what is already a niche hobby here in Japan, that can get expensive and difficult to find really fast."

"I see." she said, writing down what he said in a notebook. "Still, to think that there are so many intricacies to changing out parts like this."

"Yeah, well..." Akira said, putting down the hammer to look over at her. "It's amazing what you can learn from your hobbies."

"I see." she said, looking down at the airsoft grenade launcher. "Maybe we should immigrate to America and try this on the real ones."

"That could be fun." he said, picking the hammer back up before he stopped. He went over what she said in his head again. "Haru? Did you just...?" he trailed off, turning to look at her. She looked up at him and cocked her head slightly.

"'Did I just...?'" she asked back, getting him to swallow.

"You said that WE should immigrate to America." he said, causing her to nod her head. "As in...just the two of us?"

"Yes." she said, nodding her head. Akira continued to stare at her for a moment before her face turned red as the gravity of what she said hit her. "I...I mean...uh...I wouldn't be...um..." she trailed off, causing Akira to laugh.

"Maybe we can." he said, causing her face to turn even redder as she lowered her head. Still, he could see the small smile form on her face.

That was an interesting thought. They could open and run a cafe during the day, and work on modifying whatever gun, airsoft or real, that caught their fancy by night.

_Maybe if this is the way out of this time loop, we'll do that._

It was a nice thought, if nothing else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All joking aside, the idea for this comes from SetantaUntouchable's comment on Chapter 06 - The Usual Customer. This one-shot directly (relatively speaking) follows that one.


	18. Something Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Chapter 09 - Dinner and a Show.

It had been almost two weeks since his opera date with Sae, since she had ended up confessing her attraction to him during a lonely Valentine's Day for the two of them. He had received a lot of ribbing from the rest of the Phantom Thieves after his so-called best friend Ryuji "I Can't Keep My Mouth Shut For Five Seconds" Sakamoto asked in the group chat how the date had been. He also received just as much heat form Makoto after her brain reset and realized Ryuji wasn't just making a joke in bad taste. Still, it wasn't all bad. After having gone through the year at least sixteen times now (or was it fifteen? seventeen?), he knew all the ways to get the group to calm down.

Granted, said knowledge was non-existent when Sae walked in later that evening muttering about Makoto grilling her about dating him as though she was the older sister. Akira was honestly afraid this new-found relationship would end just as soon as it began.

Not that it would really last long anyways.

Still, it was nice to see how a broken family was finally being put back together from a new perspective. He had watched as the Nijima sisters slowly reformed their bonds as a family from the perspective of an outside observer many times now, as well as a couple of times from the inside during loops where he dated Makoto. During those times, he watched as Makoto regained her sister.

This time, though, he was watching it from the perspective of Sae's boyfriend. He was seeing Sae work through her guilt of how she had lived the past few years of her life. He had offered her comfort and a shoulder when she finally had a breakdown as the weight of what she had said to Makoto finally hit her. He acted as a confidant for her as she tried to piece together what she saw as a shattered life with her sister, being truly convinced that nothing would ever be enough despite all assurances from both Makoto and himself that it was.

"So...no hot date with Ms. Prosecutor tonight?" he heard Sojiro ask from behind the bar. He pulled himself from his thoughts and turned away slightly from the dishes he was washing to look at the man.

"She's spending time with Makoto tonight." he answered, getting a nod from Sojiro in reply.

"I still can't believe you were being serious about that." Sojiro said after a moment, causing Akira to turn the sink off and turn to face him. "I was beginning to think you had no interest in relationships or something like that."

"I do." he said, leaning up against the sink. "I just have no idea what my future will hold for me, and I also honestly never expected Sae to actually feel that way about me."

"Your future, huh?" Sojiro said, turning to the wall of coffee beans. He pulled down one of the jars and scooped out enough beans to make two cups of coffee. "I'd been thinking about this for a while, even while you were in solitary. I didn't plan on bringing it up, but with what you said the other day..." he trailed off, grinding the beans.

"Yeah?" Akira asked, truly curious. So far, pretty much everything since Sae asked him out was new to him. Sure, the little background events remained the same, but everything else was quickly spiraling into uncharted territory.

"Did you mean what you said when you called me about needing a tuxedo?" he asked, causing Akira to cock his head slightly. It took him a moment before he realized what he meant.

"You mean when I called you 'Dad,' right?"

"You said I was more of a father to you than your actual father." he replied, causing Akira to nod his head. "Did you meant that?"

"Yeah." Akira said with no hesitation. "I honestly think he saw my arrest and criminal record as a decent excuse to finally get rid of me. It gave him the 'moral high ground' since I was no longer his son the honor student that he wanted nothing to do with but instead a criminal who embarrassed him."

"I see." was all he said. He finished the two cups of coffee and placed one in front of a chair. He took a sip of the other one as Akira walked around the bar and sat down, taking a sip of his. "I take it you don't intend to stay once you finish your last year of high school there?"

"I never intended to in the first place." he replied, getting Sojiro nod his head in agreement. "After everything that happened, I have even less reason to stay there any longer than I have to." he finished, picking his cup up to have another sip.

"Then how about you stay here?"

"What?" Akira asked, putting his cup down in shock.

"I know it may not seem like much now, seeing as your friends all said they were going in different directions, but they will still be here in Tokyo." Sojiro said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Honestly, I was thinking of asking you if you wanted to stay, but decided against it. When your friends said they were going their separate ways as well, I figured you wouldn't want to stay either."

"Are you seriously asking me to stay? No joke?"

"I'm serious." he replied, finishing his cup of coffee. He put it back down and stared at it for a moment before looking back up at him. "You could stay in my house if you wanted, or continue staying here. I'm sure the house would be more comfortable, but staying here would offer you more privacy with your Ms. Prosecutor."

Akira did his best to ignore the smirk that grew on Sojiro's face as his turned red from thoughts of being alone with Sae long after Leblanc closed.

"I take it you'd want to continue living here in your little attic hideaway then." he said, the amusement evident in his voice. "I suppose we could convert it into a proper living space as well." he continued, looking toward the stairs. "Maybe I'll even have you take over running the place one day."

"Take over?" he asked, picking his cup back up to take a drink.

"Yeah." he said, giving Akira a small smile. "Let's be honest here. Futaba really won't be interested in running this place, I'm sure. So, I may as well have my son take over."

As Akira continued drinking his coffee, he tried to envision it, a future like that. Despite how hard it had become to think of the future over the years of repeating everything, he had no trouble picturing a future that Sojiro just laid out for him. He could see himself running Leblanc, using the attic above him as an office that he would be half convinced Futaba would use. He could see having a friendly rivalry with Haru's cafe. He could see Yusuke coming by for meals, offering new art pieces as payment. He could see Ann, now famous, using Leblanc as a place to relax away from the crowds. He could see Makoto coming in after a long shift, ready to unload and vent her frustrations on climbing to the top of the police force. He could see Ryuji coming in for curry and a soda, kept in stock just for him. He could see Morgana, the embodiment of human hope, spending time with whatever Thieves were there at any given moment while lording himself over the place. He could see his confidants coming in, ready to enjoy a cup of coffee while catching up on everything that's happened since they would have last seen each other.

And he could see Sae. He could see her coming in after a long day of acting as a defense attorney. He could see her coming in and claiming she was only there for the coffee. He could see their playful banter. He could see the future they won for themselves.

More than ever before, he wanted that future.

"I think I'd like that." he told him, getting another smile from Sojiro.

"Good." he said, crossing his arms. "If I can leave the place to you, that means I can enjoy being the owner and taking it easy while leaving the work to you. It'll be a true father/son business."

"You sure this wasn't just your idea for free labor?" Akira asked, getting a laugh out of the older man.

"Hardly." he said, a smirk on his face. "Still, though. Even though I only opened up this place to be there for Futaba, I have grown attached to it. I would hate to see it all go to waste one day."

"I don't see that happening." Akira said, getting a nod from the older man.

He could see himself living that future. He could see the joy he would feel from it. However, as much as he wanted it, as much as he could see it, he knew the truth.

The next time loop was going to be very painful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During the true ending of P5R, there is a scene where Sojiro appears to be about to ask Akira if he wants to stay in Tokyo, before seeming to change his mind and instead brings up that it's almost time for him to go back to wherever his hometown is. Akira has had that conversation with Sojiro many times. The lead-up to that scene and this one are identical, Akira is washing dishes while Sojiro mans the bar. The difference? For this loop, Akira called Sorjio "Dad" while claiming he was more a father to him than his real father.
> 
> So, next chapter will have massive endgame spoilers for the new "Neutral" ending to P5R. Just an FYI for those who have yet to play and see that ending and somehow gone this long without spoilers.


	19. Taking the Offer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the new "Neutral" Ending of P5R. Take this as the usual "You've been warned," warning.

Akira watched as Sojiro walked back down the stairs, leaving him alone in the dusty room. He made his way over to the bed and sat down, trying to come to terms with what had happened.

He knew he took Maruki's offer. He remembered the angry look Akechi gave him just as much as he remembered the pleased look Maruki gave him. He remembered a bright flash of light, and then being back on the train, the world having once again reset. Obviously he wasn't supposed to take the man's offer, then, but that still didn't answer for what happened, and why he had flashes of memories that must have happened.

He saw himself speaking with Sojiro, the man asking him if he wanted to stay in Tokyo.

He saw himself at a track meet, watching with the rest of the Phantom Thieves and Ryuji's mother as his friend won a gold medal and a track scholarship.

He saw himself laughing at a picture he was sent of Morgana helping Ann carry her shopping, the poor guy trying everything in his power to win her heart.

He saw himself looking at a picture someone sent him of Ann sitting with Shiho, looking at a magazine together while lightly holding hands, with a cover story talking about how Narukami Rise was pregnant with her first child and how fans were thrilled for her and her husband.

He saw himself at an opening for a new Big Bang Burger location, speaking with an excited Haru as she told him about her father's backing for her new cafe idea.

He saw himself taking a picture of a Futaba in her new Shujin Academy uniform as she walked with Sojiro and Wakaba, celebrating her acceptance into the school.

He saw himself viewing Madarame's final art piece, a collaboration with Yusuke that he used to announce his retirement due to having taught Yusuke all he knew.

He saw himself having dinner at the Nijima household, enduring the mock interrogation from Sae and her father over his intentions towards Makoto while said girl could only offer him a small smile in apology.

He saw himself playing games of chess with Akechi in his attic bedroom, both reminiscing over their times as the Phantom Thieves and the Detective Prince trying to track them down.

He saw himself watching Su...Kasumi winning a gold medal, dedicating it toward her late sister Sumire.

He watched as someone took a group picture of the Phantom Thieves and Akechi outside the gate of Shujin on Haru and Makoto's graduation day.

Most disturbing, he saw the Phantom Thieves and Akechi in Leblanc enjoying a nice meal together, while both Akechi and himself were _looking right at him with knowing smiles_.

He leaned back on the bed, trying to figure out just what the hell had happened. As he thought about it, he was able to see other scenes that played out, yet they vanished like a wisp of smoke the moment another memory took its place. All he knew for sure, though, was that Maruki was obviously wrong.

Taking his offer _wouldn't_ lead to his freedom.

No matter how much he wished those memories had been real.


	20. Time to Make History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a fun chapter, and does not follow any specific time-loop.

Akira relaxed back into the seat of the train, his eyes closed with a soft smile on his face. He absently stroked his hand down Morgana's back, trying to keep the smile from turning into a smirk as the totally-not-a-cat purred. He let his mind wander to everything that happened since he came to Tokyo.

The friends he made.

The lives he changed.

Makoto.

He knew Golden Week was only a few months away, but he was already counting down the days until he could come back and spend time with her. Eventually, summer break would come and he could come back and spend a month with her and the rest of the Thieves. Already, they were making plans to go on a trip around Japan. Eventually, Christmas and New Years would come, and then graduation. Then he could return to Tokyo for good, and hopefully spend the rest of his life with her.

He felt a small blush spread across his face at the thought.

Still, he couldn't hope but dream.

With that thought, he let himself start to doze off, knowing he could afford to take a small nap. He knew Morgana would wake him up once they reached their correct stop.

-

"Hurry!"

"Run! Get away!"

"Don't let them touch you!"

"Narukami!"

-

His eyes snapped open from the dream, confused. He closed his eyes again before they snapped back open. He had been on a Shinkansen when he dozed off, and now found himself in an older train car. He looked out the window, seeing nothing that look familiar. There was nothing but empty mountains in the background.

"Where am I?" he muttered.

_Wait..._

"Where am I?" he asked aloud. He felt a chill run down his spine at the sound of the voice that came out of his mouth. A voice that was definitely _not_ his voice.

He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a phone that was definitely not his, a much older flip phone. He flicked it open, his eyes immediately being drawn to the date.

April 11th, 2011.

It couldn't be.

He found the phone's camera function and activated it, turning the phone so the camera would be facing him. He took a picture and turned it back and opened the pictures. There weren't many on the phone to begin with, but he opened the one he just took of himself and nearly dropped the phone.

Looking down at the camera was someone who was _not_ him.

Who the hell was he?

Where the hell was he?

_When_ the hell was he?

His eyes looked back at the date again, wondering if it was true.

"Thank you for riding with us. In just a few moments, we will reach our final stop, Yasoinaba Station. Please prepare to exit."

"Yasoinaba?" he muttered to himself, looking back out the window. He could make out a small town in the distance, surrounded by rice fields. He got up from his seat and looked up at the luggage rack, noticing a black duffel bag and a white store bag. He turned and looked around himself for a moment, seeing he was the only one sitting in the area, so figured both bags were his. He grabbed them and made his way for the door, figuring he may get answers outside. As the train came to a stop, the doors opened and he stepped out.

"Final stop, Yasoinaba. Yasoinaba Station."

He walked over to a station sign and saw he was in the Yamanashi Prefecture. It still didn't tell him where in the Prefecture this Yasoinaba was, but at least he now had some idea where in Japan he was. He wasn't even that far out from Tokyo, all things considered. He sighed and walked out of the station, knowing that simply standing around was going to help solve anything. After walking out, he looked around, coming to one conclusion very quickly.

"There's absolutely nothing here." he said aloud. He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone back out, looking to see if there was anything useful he could find. A breeze blew past him, which he ignored.

"Hey. You dropped this." a voice said behind him. He turned and saw a girl around his age standing there, holding out a piece of paper.

_Where did she come from? She wasn't on the train or in the station._

"Thanks." he said, reaching over to take it from her. He looked down at the paper and saw an address with a name written on it, Dojima Ryotaro.

_Is that my name? Someone else?_

"Whatever. All I did was pick it up."

With that, she walked away, leaving him standing there alone. He watched her walking off, quickly shaking his head and looking back down at the piece of paper. He started to reach into his pocket to grab his phone when a voice drew his attention.

"Oh, there you are."

He looked up and saw an older man walking up to him, with a young girl walking beside him. They stopped in front of him, the man giving him an easy smile.

"You look better in person than in that picture." he continued. "You're a whole lot bigger than the last time I saw you. You were just a little runt in diapers back then." he said, holding his hand up a bit below shoulder height.

All he could do was laugh slightly.

"What, don't you remember me?" the man asked. "Well, it has been a while. The name is Dojima Ryotaro. I just happen to be your mother's little brother."

Okay, that answered the name on the piece of paper. The address must be his address as well.

"And, this here is my daughter, Nanako." he said, patting the girl on the top of the head. She shied away and hid slightly behind him. "Go on, say 'Hi.'"

"Um...hello." the little girl said shyly, starting to blush. Apparently Dojima noticed this as well.

"What's he making you blush for?" he asked with a laugh, causing Nanako to hit him in the leg. He let out an exaggerated sound of pain before turning away. "Anyways, let's get going, Yu."

"Okay." he said, starting to follow him.

Yu.

His name was Yu.

Now if only he knew his family name, along with maybe just what the hell was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As stated earlier, this was just a fun little chapter. Instead of finding himself brought back to start of his Tokyo adventure, Akira finds himself waking up on a small train bound for a small town called Inaba.
> 
> Anyways, the next chapter contains endgame spoilers for the new "Bad" ending of P5R.


	21. Undecided

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the new "Bad" end for P5R. As always, don't read if you haven't beaten the game, somehow managed to not be spoiled by browsing the site, and plan on still playing it.

He had no idea how much time had passed since he last spoke with Maruki. He was still dealing with everything else that had gone wrong from the time prior, dealing with the growing guilt of not being able to secure a future the rest of the Phantom Thieves wanted, dealing with running out of ideas on what he could do to change things.

He wanted to curse Narukami Yu, but he couldn't even gather the strength to care very much. So the man came and gave him false hope of being able to find a way out. So the man came and claimed to have gone through something similar. So Maruki seemed to confirm it. All Akira knew right then and there was that the man had left him alone to face this.

At least, he's pretty sure the man did.

He honestly couldn't remember much of what had happened in the past, only that things kept on resetting no matter what he did to try and stop it.

-

Time quickly lost all meaning for Akira. Intellectually, he knew he had been lying in this bed for a long time, far longer than should be possible. He knew he should have died from dehydration a long time ago, died from starvation a long time ago, died from infected bed sores a long time ago. Yet, he never got thirsty. He never felt his stomach ache for food. He never felt any pain from bed sores. He never even felt a need to use the toilet.

He was just existing, given what Maruki claimed he wanted.

To simply exist without having to make any decisions.

The same thing Yaldabaoth had offered the human race.

The same thing that the Phantom Thieves had fought against.

...

Who were the Phantom Thieves again?

-

Occasionally, he felt his mind clear enough to allow him glimpses of people he believed he knew. At least, he assumed he knew them. He could never think of any names, nor could he put any of the flashes of memories he had of them to anything concrete. They would be there for a moment, clear as day before being lost forever.

Running with a boy that had blonde hair, both of them in similar clothing.

Sneaking pieces of food to a cat in a bag he carried.

Watching a girl with long blonde hair having her picture taken by multiple people.

Standing strangely in a large room with a boy making the same pose, his hair so dark it looked like a dark shade of blue.

Playing some kind of game with a girl that had short dark-brown hair.

Sitting in some kind of cafe with a girl that had bright orange hair.

Standing by a garden on a roof with a girl that had fluffy auburn hair.

Sitting in a bar with a boy that had brown hair and carried a briefcase with an "A" on it.

Watching as a girl with long red hair ate a burger half her size, his own sitting in front of him.

He knew these people were important to him, knew that at one point he valued their safety and wellbeing above even his own. He knew he should be able to remember who they were, remember why they were important to him. Yet, every time he came close to remembering something, every time a name started to form on his lips, he felt the memories ripped away from him. All that was left was a strange case of emptiness.

After all, he didn't need to make any decisions or think anymore.

-

He pulled out his phone and looked at it, realizing after a moment that the battery was dead. He put it back down, trying to remember how long it had been since he last charged it. Was it only a few hours ago? Days ago? Could it have been weeks or months ago?

...years ago?

For a brief moment, he thought he felt something familiar behind him. He thought he may have heard something familiar, something that stirred in his heart for the briefest of moments. As soon as it was there, however, it faded away into nothingness, the same as those flashes of people he had, of names that start to be uttered only to be forgotten before he can even utter the first syllable.

It doesn't really matter.

He doesn't want to think about it.

He has no will to think anymore.

-

All he knew, all he remembered, was lying here.

He remembered nothing of his past, nothing of any hopes for the future.

He did not even remember his name.

Slowly, he closed his eyes for the last time, feeling his heart giving out after countless years, maybe even centuries, of lying here in nothingness.

-

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

Akira sat in his seat, trying to remember what happened. He knew they got to the point where Maruki would show up. They talked, and he confessed his uncertainty to stopping him. He really didn't know if it would change anything, but it was literally the last option he had. He remember Maruki giving him some speech about allowing him to be free from making the decision, and then he was here again at the start of it all.

He knew last time, when he took Maruki's offer, the same thing happened. He took the offer, and then was immediately sent back. Yet, he still had flashes of memories from what must have happened.

This time, he had nothing.

Well, at least he almost had nothing.

Though he didn't know why, and honestly questioned if he wanted to know why it was happening, he felt tears rolling down his cheeks the entire time he was sitting here.

He honestly did not know if they were tears of frustration from another failed attempt...

...or tears of joy that everything reset.


	22. Aftermath

After all this time, there was little that bothered Akira anymore. He knew how everything would go, knew how every betrayal would play out, and had perfected his acting ability so no one could become suspicious of him after going numb and giving deadpan responses during one of the previous loops. There were, however, two things that still bothered him, no matter how much he went through them, not including the obvious going through a time-loop.

His "interrogation" at the hands of the police was one of them.

As Sae dragged him to her car, he felt whatever the hell they had injected him with start to wear off. He was pretty sure it wasn't SP-117, but he honestly had no idea. All he knew was that, in ten steps the pain would turn back on as if flipping a switch.

Five steps.

Two steps.

One step.

He bit back a scream as the pain flooded his body. He found that knowing the exact moment it would hit had helped some, but only just. It really only helped enough to keep his cry of pain from resounding in the parking garage. He noticed Sae look down at him for a moment before looking back up.

"We're almost there." she said, her voice hard.

"This is nothing." he said, trying to keep the tears from falling. "This is much preferable to my cat constantly telling me to go to bed."

"Somehow I really doubt that." she said, causing him to let out a breathless laugh.

"I wish I could take you to a hospital." she continued after a moment, getting him closer to her car. He knew once they got there he would face his next challenge, getting his leg to cooperate with the rest of his body. He tried to block out what Tae had told him...will tell him...after she examines him in regards to the pains he'll carry for the rest of his life.

"It's a good thing I know a doctor who still makes house calls." he replied, feeling a single stubborn tear start to fall. He reached his hand up and haphazardly swiped it away.

"It that the Goth or the call-girl maid?" she asked him. He looked up at her and gave her a smirk.

"Are you sure you're not jealous, Ms. Prosecutor?" he asked, causing her to look down at him with a raised eyebrow in return.

"I'm sorry. Were you saying you wish to try walking on your own?"

"No, sorry, shutting up now." he said quickly, getting Sae to make a small noise in victory. After another couple of steps, he replied to her original question. "She's the Goth. My second-in-command promised me that she would get in touch with her and let her know after everything went according to plan."

"Very well." she said as they reached her car. She unlocked the door and opened it. After helping him to sit down, he tried to grit his teeth and tried to move his bad leg into the car. He was rewarded with a sharp pain that made the initial blow he took seem like a tap on the shoulder in comparison. A scream almost left him as he quickly threw his good arm up to his mouth to try and block some of the noise. She looked at him for a moment before kneeling down, she put her hands on his leg and looked up at him. He took a few deep breaths before nodding his head. She quickly lifted his leg and put it in the car before getting back and slamming the door.

Akira screamed.

He screamed and cursed as tears rolled down his face from the intense pain. He heard the driver-side door open and heard Sae get in before closing the door. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down and reached up with his good arm to put on his seatbelt.

"Am I taking you to Leblanc, or...?"

"Sojiro's house." he replied, getting her to nod. "My second-in-command should met us there with my favorite Goth doctor."

"Your second-in-command..." Sae trailed off, her voice hesitant. "Is...is she...?"

"Yeah." he replied, trying to ignore the pain in his leg by concentrating on the pain along his ribcage. He didn't know how well it really worked in the long run. "My second-in-command is Makoto."

"So this whole time I was looking for the Phantom Thieves..."

"One was sleeping in your apartment while another was serving you coffee." he said, giving her a smirk that he honestly didn't feel like giving. "Surprised?"

"In some ways, yes." she answered, looking over at him for a moment before turning back to the road. "I never thought she would do something like this. She's trying to get into the field of law. If it got out that she was one of the Phantom Thieves..."

"Well, right now, the only people who have anything to gain by saying so are Akechi and yourself." he said, his smirking dropping. "I very much doubt Akechi plans on doing anything until after the election, which gives us time to find a way to convince him otherwise or stop him. That leaves you."

"Do you think I'd go through all this trouble breaking you out if I was going to turn you in?" she snapped, her voice sharp. "Do you really think I'd turn in my own sister?"

"Considering what you made her do?" he shot back, trying desperately to keep his emotions under control. "I have zero doubt that some part of her is afraid you'll turn us all in for a promotion. After all, we never stole your Treasure. Your distorted desires and your Palace are still very much there. However, she fully believes that you will win out against your distorted desires in the end. The fact that we have made it this far show some validity in that. I trust her judgment. It's far from useless. She tells me something will work out, and I believe her. She's far smarter than me, hence why I made her my second-in-command. Hell, I'd make her our leader if I knew she'd seriously take the job."

"You really do trust her, don't you?" she asked, her slight sound of pain in her voice. Akira wondered if she understood what he meant when he hinted at her words.

"I know people make comments like 'With my life,' and things like that." he replied, looking away from her and out the opposite window. "This plan was completely thought up by her. If it didn't work, I would be dead. So believe me when I say I one hundred percent trust her with my life, because I already have trusted her with it."

The rest of the ride was quiet. Normally, he would be joking in order to keep the pain at bay, but after everything that had happened, after the failed attempts to escape the seemingly endless loops by way of Maruki, he didn't really have it in him.

He did, however, notice Sae sending glances at him out of the corner of his eyes. He figured she was just making sure he hadn't died, and thought nothing more of it. Instead, he simply continued to mentally prepare himself for the trip into Sojiro's house, and everything that would follow after.

In all honesty, he probably hated this more than the endless time-loops.

At least those gave him seven months of being able to enjoy moving like a normal human, without having to worry about pain flaring up.

It was something else Shido robbed of him, by way of those damn detectives.

Detectives he knew, deep down, would probably be given promotions as opposed to reprimands for their actions.

He felt a single tear fall, and ignored it.

He had more important things to worry about.

He had a date with Shido's Palace.


	23. Bloody Valentine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usual warning about Kasumi. If you haven't beaten P5R yet, be warned. And with that, I have only one more thing to say before we start.
> 
> ...hoo boy...

It was February 15th, and Akira was honestly a little worried. He wondered for a moment if he may have made a mistake hanging out with Ryuji as opposed to spending the evening with one of his girlfriends. This late in the game, he honestly didn't even see it as cheating anymore, since he had dated them all independently of each other throughout the various loops.

Sojiro running into Leblanc looking like he'd seen the Reaper was his first clue that, just because he saw it like that, didn't mean they saw it as not cheating.

"Hey, what did you do!?" he yelled, looking at him. "Outside the store, is that...!?" he started, trailing off as the door opened again. He watched as nine of his ten girlfriends walked in, holding boxes of chocolate. All of them were snapping at each other before turning as one to face him. They made their way toward him, pinning him down near the sink.

This was bad.

"I saw the light on in here last night..." Makoto said, a look of extreme anger on her face. "Did you think you'd just try and trick this romantically impaired fool?"

"I was worried about you, so I came to check on you yesterday..." Haru said, her voice broken. "You could have just said you were busy, even if you had to lie about what you were doing."

"So you already have a favorite!?" Ann yelled, cutting in. "I came to say 'Hello,' yesterday, but when I looked in the window, you were with someone else...you dick!"

"I got worried yesterday, so I read my own fortune..." Chihaya started, trailing off. "It said...that you're seeing someone else. But, for it to have gone this far..."

"You seem to be doing well." Takemi said, her voice sharp. "Did my little guinea pig forget to turn off his lights last night?"

"You're such a problem child." Kawakami said, speaking up. "I left work early yesterday to see how you were, and I saw you with someone else. What the heck am I doing?"

"I got quite the scoop yesterday...a boyfriend caught cheating!" Ohya snapped. "I'm not very happy about it, though."

"You were here with someone else yesterday, weren't you?" Hifumi asked, her voice low. "And now with all these other women here...just how many girls have you been cheating with?"

"I didn't want to suspect you of anything, Akira-senpai." Sumire said, her voice broken. "But, after seeing this...with everyone here."

He figured the only keeping him alive so far was the lack of Futaba in the group. Of course, the moment he thought about her, the door opened again and in walked the girl.

"Yesterday, who were you with?" Futaba asked, her voice wavering.

"Futaba!?" Sojiro yelled in shock before turning to face Akira. The glare on his face was something he had never seen before. Some small part of him knew it would never doubt the older man's claims of having worked for the government, and instead started to wonder just what kind of agent the man really was in his past. That vast majority of him, however, was stuck on one single thought.

_Yeah, I'm dead._

"Take it." Makoto said forcefully, holding out the chocolate.

"Take my chocolate, please...before I crush it." Haru said, her voice the same happy note she had when cutting down Shadows.

"And here I came all this way for you." Ann said.

"This...was for you." Futaba said, her voice starting to break.

"Here." Chihaya said forcefully. "Take your chocolate."

"There's no need to be modest." Takemi said. "Just take the chocolate.

"You can eat this, right?" Kawakami snapped at him. "It's chocolate."

"Here. It's chocolate, got it." Ohya said.

"Here's your chocolate..." Hifumi said dejectedly.

"Can you eat this chocolate for me...?" Sumire asked, her voice dead.

"Hey kid, at least say something..." Sojiro muttered while glaring at him.

"I do want the chocolate." Akira said, causing Sorjio to shake his head in disgust.

Sojiro muttered something under his breath before clearing his throat and speaking up. "Anyways, I was just about to go shopping." he said, looking back at Futaba for a moment. "Pans and knives are in the kitchen. Take your time."

"Wait, what!?" Akira yelled, looking at him in shock at what he had just said.

With that, the older man walked out.

"I'll...see you later." Morgana said, turning toward the door and making his way out. "If you survive, at least. With how they look, though, I think it's better if I say goodbye now."

As soon as the door closed, the girls closed in on him. The first punch came from, predictably, Makoto. He stumbled back against the sink, reaching for it to keep his balance. He shook his head to try and clear it before looking up and seeing Ann's hand flying toward him. The slap she gave him reverberated inside the cafe as his glasses went flying. As they broke, some part of him was glad they were fake.

"I believed you were different!" Ann yelled, trying to shove Makoto aside. "You're no better than Kamoshida, you piece of shit! Get out of my way, Queen! I was dating him the longest, which means I get first dibs on beating the shit out of him!"

"I doubt that." Ohya said, pushing past both of them. "I've been dating him since August 12, so I bet I was dating him first."

"Wait..." Makoto said, her glare intensifying. "You asked me out on August 12 while we were at Crossroads! Are you telling me you asked out someone else the same day!?"

"He asked you at Crossroads too!?" Ohya turned, looking at her. She quickly turned back to Akira, a sinister grin growing on her face. "So you really were playing with me right from the start. I knew you would be a playboy, but I never thought it would be like this. I think you deserve punishment."

"Well I was still dating him first!" Ann yelled, shoving Ohya into Makoto. Ohya shoved her back into the sink, causing Ann to slap her. "Don't shove me, bitch!"

"Look who's talking!"

"So...after you confessed to me...you still went and asked out someone twice your age." Makoto said softly, her voice not matching the glare on her face. She pushed both Ann and Ohya behind her, the two girls too caught up in their catfight to even notice. "I think it's time I show you what my father taught both my sister and myself."

Akira continued to back up, wondering if he could make a break for the door when box of chocolate hit him on the side of the head. He turned and look as Haru and Tae slowly approached him. Tae pulled out a folding pocket knife and opened it.

"You know, my horny little guinea pig, I can make sure you suffer." she said, her voice low. "I can make it so you can't escape the retribution that is coming."

"I agree." Haru said, smiling sweetly at him. "I'm pretty sure if we plunge a knife into your back and sever your spinal cord, we can make your suffering most painful." she continued, getting everyone who wasn't Ann and Ohya to look at her in shock.

"That would kill him." Kawakami said, looking at her as if she had never seen her before.

"Is that a problem?"

"If you're trying to make him feel pain, yes." Hifumi replied, looking shocked. "Wouldn't severing his spinal cord just make it so he can't feel anything on top of killing him?"

"I suppose that's true." she said, a slight note of disappointment in her voice. "I suppose we'll have to save that for the end of our torture."

"And once again, Haru shows the world that she's a total yandere." Futaba muttered, opening up a laptop and setting it on the bar. He noticed it was his laptop. "So, you have some weird kinks on here, Akira. I'm sure you won't mind if I post it all online, will you? No? Good."

"So then here's a fun question I'd like an answer to." Kawakami said before anyone else could say anything. "When we were in Hawaii, I brought up spending time with you. I even bought some nice swimsuits to model for you. However, you never replied. Who were you spending time with?"

"Wait, so when I walked in on you posing in those swimsuits and taking photos of yourself...the pictures were for Akira!?" Makoto yelled, turning to look at her.

"Yes, they were." she replied, her gaze never leaving his. "I know you said you liked them. Did you have fun with them while believing we would remain none the wiser?"

"I, too, would like to know who you were spending time with." Hifumi asked, walking forward. "I asked you out, and just like they say, you never responded to me."

"I know it wasn't Ann." Makoto said, turning to face him. "We spent the day together after you ignored us. Unfortunately, neither one of us told the other who we tried to make plans with. We should have known, at least I should have know, but I trusted you far too much."

"I was hanging out with the guys!" he yelled, backing up. "I was trying to keep them from doing something that would get them arrested, I swear!"

"Well, I suppose we could forgive that one transgression." Kawakami said, her gaze becoming even sharper. "If it is true."

"It's true!" he said, looking at all of them. "I swear, it's true!"

"Then you will not mind if we confirm it, will you?" Haru asked, taking out her phone.

"What!?" he yelled, unable to keep the panic out of his voice. Without thinking, he lunged toward Haru to try and grab the phone, only to be pulled back my Makoto. Hifumi pushed past Ann and Ohya, currently rolling on the floor slapping and scratching at each other, and clamped her hand over Akira's mouth to silence him.

"Yo, what up Noir!?" Ryuji's voice cut through the cafe.

"Good afternoon, Ryuji-kun!" Haru said, her voice sweet. "I have to finalize a report for the school in regards to the trip we took to Hawaii. I have noted that you spent our free day with Akira and Mishima-kun, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right." he replied. "We decided to try and pick up gi...I mean, uh...hang out."

"So you tried to pick up girls?" Haru asked, her voice teasing in nature. It did nothing to soften the look of pure hatred that her eyes showed. He also felt Hifumi's hand tighten on his mouth and Makoto's arm lock to tighten as well. He tried to ignore the pain that started to flare up from his shoulder.

"I mean, well, uh..."

"Don't worry, Ryuji-kun, this won't be put in the report."

"Then, uh...yeah, we tried."

"No success I take it?" she asked, her voice turning sympathetic.

"No, I struck out." he muttered. "According to Mishima, though, Akira somehow got lucky." he continued as Akira's eyes widened in fear.

_Shit._

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, he was muttering about how unfair it was that Akira apparently got lucky with two girls."

_Shit shit shit shit!_

"Really!?" she said, sounding surprised. "I never would have thought he would do something like that."

"Well, uh...I mean...I don't know if it's true or not, but...that's what Mishima said."

_Fuck you, Mishima! Fuck you, Ryuji!_

"Well, I suppose that will have to be kept out of any report I submit." she said, glaring at him. "After all, if anyone deserves to have a ménage à trois it would be have been Akira-kun. I have to go now. I will speak to you later, Ryuji."

"Yeah, talk later Noir." he said. She hung up the phone, her glare never leaving him.

"So, my dear Akira-kun." Haru said, her voice turning frigid. "How, exactly, did you manage that?"

"That didn't happen!" he yelled as soon as Hifumi pulled her hand away. "I swear, that didn't happen!"

"Then why would Ryuji make it up?" she asked back. He didn't say anything, causing Hifumi to punch him where his leg was still trying to pretend to heal. He screamed in pain as his leg gave out. Makoto let him fall to the floor. She placed her foot over the same spot and looked down at him.

"I know how much this will hurt." she said, her voice low. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"I told them I was the leader of the Phantom Thieves!" he yelled, causing them to look at him in shock, even Ann and Ohya. "I showed them the Metanav and everything! There was a Palace there in Hawaii, so I took them in and showed them it was real!"

One by one, the girls walked over to the booths, starting to silently discuss what to do with him. He tuned it out as he slowly started to crawl behind the bar. He knew he had to get away from them. While he knew most of them wouldn't outright kill him, he didn't want to take his chances with Haru. Likewise, he didn't know if Makoto would be able to hold back enough to not kill him by accident.

He just had to get out of Leblanc. If he could do that, he could make it the final month before everything reset. He had enough yen on him that he could stay anywhere he wanted, having the finest foods delivered to him while enjoying his final month before the reset. Hell, if he played his cards right, he could even stiff the hotel for the bill once everything reset. He just had to get out of Leblanc and then to the street. He knew taking the train would be a mistake, but if he could make to the street, he could escape and be away. Even if he had to sleep in a back alley somewhere, he was content in the knowledge that nothing could be worse than the mess he was in right now.

The door opening ended any hope of that happening.

"Lavenza?" he heard Makoto ask in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to see my beloved Trickster." she said, causing Akira to lower his head on the floor.

He was dead.

"What, exactly, do you mean?" Ann asked as he quickly started to crawl faster.

"I was told that yesterday was the day you give your beloved person chocolate." she said, her voice sounding confused. "I know I am a day late, but I saw him in here with someone else. I figured I would bring them by today."

"Akira!" Makoto yelled, and he started to stand up to try and run. Stealth had lost out.

"Don't think you can get away!" Haru yelled, grabbing one of the discarded boxes of chocolates and throwing it at him. It hit him one the head, dropping him.

"Come here." he heard Takemi say softly. "Tell me, did he touch you anywhere?"

"Sometimes he does." he heard Lavenza say, the confusion in her voice growing. Akira knew she was referring to him patting her on the head prior to heading out of the Velvet Room. He could only she said that was what it was. "Is he not supposed to touch me?"

"It's not what you think!" he yelled, trying to get back up. "It's not like that! I just-" he continued before being cut off, a jar of coffee beans smashing into the back of his head.

"Haru-senpai!" he heard Sumire yell in shock.

"I suppose I will have to pay Boss back for that." she said simply, kicking Akira over. He looked up and realized he was seeing the same thing hundreds of Shadows saw right before their death. Haru looked down at him, an evil smile on her face while holding a large kitchen knife instead of an axe.

"Shouldn't we stop her!?"

"The cards did tell me I would witness something gruesome if I did not intervene." Chihaya said, her voice monotone as Haru straddled him. "I believe, all things considered, this is one instance where allowing fate to play out as intended would be better worth it."

"Do you remember this position we're in, Kurusu-san?" Haru asked, rocking her hips slightly. "We were in a similar position when you said you'd never leave me. I'm afraid that contract has been made null and void." she continued, raising the knife up. "Goodbye, Kurusu-san."

"No! I'm sorry! Please don't! Haru, plea-!" he yelled as she swung the knife down toward his chest.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving-"

The subway's announcement was drowned out by Akira screaming, clutching his chest. Everyone around him looked in shock and fear as he fell out of his seat onto the floor. He felt his heart-rate jump from his usual resting rate to the insane heart-rate he had been at when watching Haru swing the knife down at him. He felt his body trying to catch up with his mind before his heart gave out.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

He was sitting again, feeling his heart-rate climb. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. After a moment, he felt his heart-rate start to fall back to what it normally was.

"Let's not do that again." he muttered to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this more my own. Most of the first third of this story is taken verbatim from the Harem ending of P5R. I've tried to make what changes I could, but they were minor if existent. After that, it goes all original.
> 
> One complaint I have with the Harem ending is how inorganic it sounds. Having written branching dialog before, I know that making original content for each possible scenario that comes up is not exactly easy. Thus, some lines don't really work, such as Sumire's line about not wanting to suspect anything and Hifumi asking if you are cheating on her. If you are just two-timing them, it works. When they're with a large group of women, it makes them sound like an idiot.


	24. From, The Detective Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this wasn't the one that I originally had planned for the day. However, that one will require a lot more time to figure out just what I want to do with it. So instead, have this one, because we all know Akira would sign the calling card "The Detective Prince" just to fuck with Akechi.

"So...I have an idea on what to call our group." Akira said, getting the other three to turn from their plates and look at him. "We should call ourselves The Detective Prince."

"Uh...why?" Ryuji asked, turning to Ann with a questioning look on his face. She shrugged in response before pulling out her phone and typing something.

"Yeah, Joker, why call ourselves that?" Morgana asked quietly, trying to keep as inconspicuous as a cat in a high-class buffet could. "Why not something flashy like 'Mona and the Phantoms' or something?"

"How 'bout 'Mona and the Cat Burglars' instead?" Ryuji asked, smirking.

"I'm not a cat!" he hissed, ducking back inside Akira's messenger bag when he realized how loud he had been.

"So, according to this, the 'Detective Prince' was a title given to Shirogane Naoto prior to her coming out as a woman." Ann said, looking down at her phone. "She came out in 2012 following her successful solving of a serial murder case in some town called Inaba in the Yamanashi Prefecture. She apparently decided to drop the title because she managed to work through her self-image issues with the help of a group of friends she made that apparently helped her solve the case. According to this, she stayed in Inaba where she's supposedly living with a significant other who rumor says is a tailor or some kind of gang member, or both." she continued, moving her finger as she scrolled down before her eyes grew wide. "How the hell did she manage to hide those!?"

"Huh!? Hide what?" Ryuji asked, startling slightly at her raised voice.

"Okay, take a look at this." she said, scrolling back for a moment before turning the phone to them. "This is a picture of her from a TV appearance she did in 2011 about the murders."

"She totally looks like a dude." Ryuji said, Akira nodding in agreement.

"Okay." Ann said, looking at the phone again and scrolling back down. She turned the phone back to them again. "This is what she looks like now."

"How!?" Ryuji asked, looking up at Ann. "Like...how!?"

"I don't know." Ann said, looking back down at the picture. She looked down at her own chest for a moment before shaking her head. "They hurt just trying to figure out how she did it. I really don't want to think about it."

"So you really want to name our group after her?" Ryuji asked, turning to look at Akira. He shook his head as Ann raised an eyebrow.

"So...according to this, there's another Detective Prince."

"Really?" Ryuji asked, looking over at her. "Who?"

"Akechi Goro."

"Let them think that he stole all these hearts." Akira said, leaning back with a smirk. "He's stolen a bunch of fan-girls' hearts, so let him take the fall for our work as well."

"Yeah, but..." Ann started, trailing off and look at Ryuji.

"Dude...do you really think anyone would buy it?" Ryuji asked, causing Akira's smirk to fall slightly.

"Lady Ann and Ryuji have a point, Joker." Morgana said from inside his bag. "Besides, we already called ourselves 'The Phantom Thieves of Hearts' when we stole Kamoshida's treasure. If we name ourselves something that obvious, no one would believe us."

"So...we make it a vote." Akira said, looking at them. "Ann, your vote?"

"No." she said, shaking her head.

"Ryuji?"

"Uh...yeah, I'm going to have to say no, Dude."

"Mona?"

"No." he said simply.

"Well, I say yes." Akira said, writing something down in his notebook. "Since I'm the leader, my vote counts for four votes, so we're calling ourselves 'The Detective Prince' from here on out."

"Akira...no." Ryuji said, shaking his head.

"Fine." Akira muttered, crossing it out. "How about we call ourselves 'Pancakes' instead?"

"Dude, take this seriously!" Ryuji yelled, getting people to look at them.

"Fine." he muttered, writing down 'The Phantoms' instead. "There, happy? Now let's finish eating before they kick us out for being too loud."


	25. Cheesing Okumura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta - we die like we're playing Okumura's P5R boss battle on Normal difficulty.
> 
> Seriously...best way to beat it? Play on Merciless. What the fuck was that about?

Once again, they were up against the totally not a Darth Vader knock-off that was Haru's father. Out of every Shadow they fought so far, this had to be the most annoying one, with the exception of Yaldabaoth. Granted, they also really never fought Haru's father except for maybe five seconds after they beat every other robot Shadow he sent at them.

Still, though, he really hated the battle against him. It was so damn hard last time to down and beat every wave before they ran out of time, especially since the bastards liked to get up and run off. They had come close to failing because of how difficult it had been. Things were different this time, however.

All thanks to a couple of Fusion Alarms.

Joker smirked as Haru's father sent out his first batch of minions.

"Blazing Hell!" he yelled, pulling off his mask. The rest of the Phantom Thieves looked at him in shock as Mara appeared behind up and unleashed the attack.

"Dude, why the eff do you have a effin' Mara!?" Skull yelled.

"Better question, when did you get an effin' Mara!?" Panther yelled.

"Jealous, Skull? Feeling threatened?" he asked as Okumura called up the next batch of minions. "Ice Age!" he yelled again as he ripped his mask off. Once again, Mara appeared behind him.

"Dude! Hell no!" he yelled, his face turning red. "I'm not jealous of that! Nor do I feel threatened!"

"Can we please focus!" Queen yelled as Okumura called in the next batch.

"Sure." Joker said, smirking as he pulled off his mask again. "Mara! Cosmic Flare!"

"So...does its size carry over to you as well, Joker?" Noir asked, causing everyone to look at her.

"Noir! How dare you bring up if Joker's hung or not! This is a Christian Minecraft server!" Oracle yelled in fake shock as another group of minions showed up.

"Vacuum Wave!" Joker yelled, pulling his mask off before turning to look at Noir. "I don't want to imply anything, but..."

"Am I to assume we're not going to focus and take this seriously...?" Queen asked, her voice defeated.

"I'm confused." Fox said, turning his head to look at them. "How could Joker be hung? He is obviously not hung."

"Fox! What the hell, man!?" Joker yelled, looking at him in shock.

"F." Skull said, chuckling.

"F." Panther also said, giggling.

"F." Oracle said, outright laughing as Okumura sent out the next group.

"Psycho Blast." Joker muttered, watching in delight as Mara destroyed all of them in one blow. He turned and faced the rest of the Phantom Thieves. "Want me to do that to you?"

"No." the laughing members replied as one. He nodded his head as Okumura sent out his executive director.

"I didn't think so." he said, turning back to the fight. "Oni! God's Hand!" he yelled, switching Persona. The Persona appeared and launched the attack. Thanks to all the buffs from another Fusion Alarm, it became a quick one-hit kill.

"Dude, seriously! Where the hell did you get these!?" Skull asked, looking at him.

"Why haven't you used these before, Joker?" Mona asked.

"I've been keeping them for a rainy day." he said simply as a robot Haru came out. "It may not be raining today, but I figured this was close enough. God's Hand!" he yelled, ripping off his mask. Once again, it became a one-hit kill.

"Seriously, Joker. Talk about OP." Oracle said as Okumura tried to summon more minions.

"I know." he said, smirking at Okumura. "God's Hand!"

After the nightmare that was his previous run, it felt great to cheese Okumura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While the Mara is wish fulfillment, the Oni is actually a Persona that I acquired during a Fusion Alarm. Said Oni had Miracle Punch (which I later used a God's Hand skill card that I have no idea how the hell I got to swap the skill), Megdiolaon, and all passive buffs for increasing Critical rates. I got said Oni during I believe Kaneshiro's Palace, and used it pretty much through the rest of them game until the final boss. The only reason I switched out during the final boss was because I had another Persona (also from a Fusion Alarm, but can't remember what it was) that nulled everything except Almighty.
> 
> Seriously, some of these Fusion Alarm Personas are so damn broken it's not even funny.
> 
> Also, I am aware that the "No swearing in my Christian Minecraft server!" meme didn't really become popular until early 2017, but it did exist in 2016. I just couldn't resist putting it in.


	26. The Long Drive Home

Akira let out a small smile, closing his eyes to take in the sounds of his friends around him. He knew the drive would take some time, knew that everyone's mixed personalities could lead to issues and arguments, and yet they all agreed to drive him back home. They all agreed that they would prefer to spend as much time with him as possible before having to leave him.

He felt Makoto's hand take his, and turned his over to hold it. He glanced over at her and caught her eye for a moment, giving her a soft smile. She returned it in kind before again giving the road her full attention.

"So Dude, you're coming back for Golden Week, right?" Ryuji asked from the back, getting him to turn around in his seat and face the rest of the Phantom Thieves. He gave them a smile and nodded his head.

"Of course I will."

"Man, it's going to suck without having you at Shujin, though." Ann complained. "Are you sure we can't just kidnap you? I'm sure Queen wouldn't mind getting an apartment of her own and having you magically appear in it with her."

"It's kinda late for that, though." he said, rubbing the back of his head. "All my enrollment information has been switched over already."

"Get me a place with internet, and I can have that fixed in two minutes flat." Futaba said, lifting up her laptop. "I'd do it here, but cell service through here is kinda spotty."

"Though I wouldn't be opposed to him staying in Tokyo, please don't do anything illegal, Futaba." Makoto said, looking back at the girl in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, Queen."

"So...did anyone else notice how Queen totally didn't deny sharing an apartment with Akira?" Ryuji asked, getting Makoto to sigh.

"Well, Mako-chan did ask me to switch with Akira-kun so they could hold hands." Haru said nonchalantly before covering her mouth.

"Haru!?" Makoto shouted, looking back at her a moment before turning back to the road. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Sorry, Mako-chan."

"So they're up there holding hands, huh?" Ryuji said, his voice teasing. "How lewd. Remember, most of us are under eighteen back here."

"Is the act of holding hands lewd?" Yusuke asked, looking up from his sketchpad. "I never would have thought of something as innocent-looking as that to be lewd."

"It's not lewd!" Makoto said, her face turning red.

"So Joker, which would you prefer for us to stay in?" Morgana asked, drawing his attention. "Your hometown, the attic in Leblanc, or an apartment with Queen?"

"Well, an apartment with my Queen, obviously." he said, turning his head to smirk at her.

"How can you say that with such a straight face?" she asked, her voice exasperated. Still, visible only to him, he saw the small smile spread on her face, as well as her tightening her hand slightly.

"Still, we're coming to get you for summer, got it." Ann said, causing him to look back at them again.

"Winter break, too." Futaba said.

"Then once you're done with school, you're coming back with us." Ryuji said, smiling. "That should give Queen enough time to find an apartment for you guys."

"I suppose it will." Makoto replied.

"Yeah!" Ann yelled. "Even if you're far off, Tokyo is now your home, got it!"

"Your place is with us, Bro!" Ryuji also yelled, leaning forward to slug his arm around him. "Your place is forever with the Phanto-"

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

Akira leaned back into his seat, fighting to keep the tears from falling.

This was proving to be a larger problem than he last thought it would be.


	27. Another White Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after Chapter 18 - Something Different. Also, not beta read - we die like a cheating Akira on White Day.

For Akira, today was his...he really had lost count by this point, maybe seventeenth White Day. Eighteenth? Sixteenth? At least, it was that count for the loops. He knew there were a few loops he didn't celebrate White Day, including a few where he never even made it to White Day.

(He tried, and mostly failed, to repress the shudder from the nightmare that came from him trying to have a harem.)

Still, part of him also understood that this White Day was different. He had individually dated a few of his older confidants, but there was something different about dating Sae. Chief among them, was the fact that they had yet to actually agree on if they were really dating or not. Sure, they'd gone on a date to the opera, and she spent a lot of her free time at Leblanc now, and they shared a few kisses goodnight when she would leave, but she had also kept anything about putting a name to what they were doing as vague as possible.

While he liked to call himself Sae's boyfriend, she had yet to actually call him that on her own.

There was also the fact that she was busy all day.

He told himself not to let it bother him, that it wouldn't matter what they called themselves after everything reset the following week, but it still nagged at him. He liked spending time with Sae, and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

Nevertheless, if he learned anything from this, it was how to adapt on the fly. One sent text message that it was no problem, one phone call to cancel a reservation, and delivery of flowers later, he was back in Leblanc behind the counter. While nowhere near as insane as Valentine's Day, there still were more people than usual on White Day. He served them all with equal attention, noticing that Sojiro seemed to be doing less work that he usually did. He didn't know if the old man was letting him bury his frustration in work, or if he was just being lazy and figured he'd let him do all the work under the guise of future training for when he took over.

Still, as the last customer left for the day, he felt the satisfaction from a good day's work. Sojiro had left him to close up the cafe, once again leading him to believe that old man was simply being lazy. Still, he didn't mind it. He'd enjoy the last week of this loop for as long as he could.

The door opening drew his attention. He turned to welcome the late customer while inwardly curing Sojiro for not turning the sign to "CLOSED" on his way out before coming face to face with Sae.

"I don't suppose you're willing to extend your hours for me?" for asked, the serious look on her face betrayed by the small smile threatening to form.

"For you, always." he said, causing her to shake her head.

"I'd swear you were turning this into a host club with how straight-faced you can say those lines." she muttered, causing him to smile. She sat down at the bar in front of him as he started to prepare her Kona coffee. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, looking up at her as he ground the coffee beans.

"You had this whole evening planned out, and I had to make you cancel."

"Don't worry about it." he said, turning back to the grinder. "I know you're busy with Shido's case, as well as transferring over to become a defense attorney. I'm sorry for springing it on you last minute like that."

"Thank you for the flowers, by the way." she said as he started to pour her coffee. "You would not believe how many heads it turned when they were delivered. People couldn't decide rather they were delivered to the wrong address or if I bought them myself in order to fool people."

"What did you tell them?" he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee as well. He hers in front of her and his in front of the seat next to her. He made his way around the counter and sat next to her as she took a sip of the coffee.

"The truth." she replied, looking at him. "I told them my boyfriend delivered them to me after I had to cancel our date."

"You told them that, huh?" he asked, trying to hid the blush that started to spread across his face.

"I did." she answered, turning back to her coffee. She took another drink of it before setting the cup down and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Can I ask you something? And you'll be completely honest, and not be your usual witty self?"

"Yeah." he replied, causing her to take a deep breath and let it out.

"When I cancelled on you today...did you come to resent agreeing to date me?"

"No." he replied without thinking. He lowered his head on hers and closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. "Disappointed, yes. But nothing would make me resent dating you."

"Even knowing that there may be many more days like today?" she asked, reaching out and taking his hand. It never ceased to surprise him how intimate she could be in private. She'd go from being cold and professional while in public to constantly wanting touches while out of the harsh view of the public. He knew why. She had locked away her desires for relationships, for closeness to others. He knew she was just making up for lost time.

"Even if there are more days like today." he said, turning his head to kiss the top of hers. "Besides. You're here now. That's more than enough for me."

"I don't suppose we can stay like this for a while, can we?" she asked, causing him to smile. He lowered his head back on hers and squeezed her hand.

"As long as you want." he replied, closing his eyes again.

"Maybe next year...we can try the place you had a reservation at." she said. He turned his head and kissed hers again before setting it back on hers again.

"It's a date." he said, trying to smother the broken feeling of knowing it would never come.

He would worry about the year repeating later.

For the here and now, he just wanted to enjoy his last week with Sae, his girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be away from home for the next few days. Updates will continue Tuesday August 18 (or Wednesday August 19 depending on your location) at the usual posting time.


	28. Jealous?

"So that was when my second-in-command asked me to be her pretend boyfriend." Akira said, trying to keep everything in order. After all these years, he knew he could never physically say anything about being stuck in a time-loop (save his one conversation with Narukami several years ago), but that still didn't mean he could easily recount what happened over the course of the year. While the actual events were easy to remember after all these times through them, the order was hard. He had to keep track of when he did things and said things, least Sae believe he was purposely hiding something. Case in point, he knew the next thing Sae would say was about the number of girls he was pretending to date.

"That's the third time you've said that you pretended to date one of your female confidants." Sae said, leaning back and raising an eyebrow. "Add on the call-girl maid you apparently know from somewhere and spend an ungodly amount of yen on, and you seem like a regular playboy."

"I swear, I'm not." he said, smirking at her.

"You expect me to believe that?" she asked, leaning forward. "Let's review. You claim your cover story with the reporter is that you're her underage boyfriend. Your cover story with the Goth is that you're her underage boyfriend. You're cover story with your second-in-command is that you're her boyfriend. From my records of your...exacting...recollection of everything, you have spent six hundred eighty-five thousand yen on the call-girl in a mixture of call fees and tips. You apparently spend a lot of time with another female member of your group. You also claim to have spent a large sum of money on a fake fortune-teller. You apparently spend every fourth night playing shogi of all things with some girl in a church of all places. Then there's also this underclassman you bring up occasionally. That sounds like a playboy to me."

"So...to be fair, the other female member of the team is a lesbian, or maybe bi, so I don't think she should count."

"Fine, we'll remove her from the list." she replied, leaning back again. "That still leaves seven women you have been leading on, and we're only half-way through your story from what I can tell."

"Only two more girls to add, I swear." he said, smiling at her. "I'll also swear that I'm not dating either of them as well."

"I'm sure." she replied, causing Akira to lean back. He looked at her for a moment, and did the mental equivalent of a shrug before opening his mouth.

Worse that would happen was he gets reset.

"Are you jealous of them?" he asked, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

"...what?" she asked flatly.

"Are you jealous of them?" he asked again, crossing his arms to mirror her usual pose. "I think you're jealous of them. I think you're jealous that other successful women are spending time with me, while you've shut yourself away and denied forming or continuing any relationship with nothing to show for it."

"You think you know me well enough to say that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "All you know about me is what you could gleam from working as a barista to a coffee shop I would occasionally go to and whatever you think you could gleam from this interrogation."

"You forgot one other thing." he said, smirking. "I've seen your heart, as well."

"So you claim." she said, leaning forward slightly and looking him in the eye. "Did my 'Shadow Self' tell you that I'm lonely as well?"

"Well...actually, no." he said, dropping the smirk. "I just figured you may be jealous of them since, even if it's fake, they at least have relationships.

"I don't need some wannabe playboy to act like he cares about me to feel validation." she snapped at him. "Wasting my time with a relationship will not get me further in my career. I'm busy trying to work so I can ensure Makoto has her needs met."

"So relationships are useless then, right?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "Better to get rid of everything that eats away at your life, right? Sorry, slip of the tongue. I meant to say time, not life."

She leaned back, her calm demeanor shattered for a moment as the weight of the words he said hit her. It quickly grew into a glare. For his part, he simply stared at her, refusing to be the first to break while also knowing he would need to pick his words carefully whenever he brought up what she had said to Makoto.

"Is there a point to this?" she asked, her voice hard.

"Just legitimately curious." he replied.

"Then humor me." she said, her voice still sharp. "Pretend I said that I was jealous. What concern of it is yours. I'm sure people would be jealous of you as well, at least as far as the number of women you constantly are around. Are you legitimately curious about all of them as well?"

"No." he said, shaking his head. "I just find it odd that out of everything you could be focusing on when it comes to this, you decide to focus on me supposedly being a playboy. That sounds a bit like jealously to me."

"And I'm assuring you that it's not." she replied. "The last thing I have to be jealous of is a woman pretending to date someone half her age. I have no plans to throw away my career right at the cusp of a big promotion because of jealousy."

"If you say so." he said, shrugging as best he could with his shot shoulder. He winced slightly at the movement, wondering if maybe he should have pushed Sae harder about what she had said to Makoto. If nothing else, it would mean another seven months of a working shoulder. "I guess we should continue, then."

"Yes, continue." she said, looking down at her watch for a moment before turning back to look up at him. "And please, move the story along. You have about an hour left, and we haven't even gotten to the worst of your crimes yet."


	29. Strike the Pose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Free internet points/cookies for anyone who gets the reference in the title.

Once again, Akira found himself with Yusuke inside the Kanda Catholic Church. By this point, he knew trying to talk his confidants through straight to the end of the problems was impossible, so he simply went along with the usual insanity they required. Case in point was probably the...strangest...thing he had done with a confidant, imitating the Crucifixion of Christ.

Once again, he made the strange pose Yusuke had requested and half listened to him talk about how it gave a feeling of true anguish when he noticed the door open. He watched Hifumi walk in and stop to look at them. After a moment, she turned and walked back outside. He dropped the pose, cutting off Yusuke in the middle of his speech.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, getting Akira to shake his head.

"I just saw Hi...Togo-san start to walk in, and then turn around to walk out after she saw us." he said, putting his hands in his pocket to try and act nonchalant. Somehow, he didn't think she would be all that interested in dating him should she figure he was always like that.

"I see." Yusuke replied, turning to face the door for a moment before turning back to him. He stared at him for a moment before his eyes lit up. "That look on your face. It's perfect!" he yelled, forming a frame with his hands. "That look of anguish, while maybe not matching that of one who bares the entirety of the world's sins on his shoulders, is one that is possibly more human. It is a look of someone who has been denied by one they wish to be their lover. I must get this on paper!"

As Akira watched Yusuke pull his sketchbook out and begin to draw, he didn't know rather to be flattered or insulted by his words. Luckily for all involved, the priest came up to stop Yusuke a moment later, admonishing them both for bothering the congregation. Yusuke apologized while Akira simply nodded along, not really feeling a need to apologize since Yusuke was the one causing the major issues. They left not long after.

"I truly believe staying with you will unlock my true potential as an artist." Yusuke said, turning to face him once they were outside.

"Is that so?" Akira asked, looking over at him. He was honestly still wondering if maybe he could find Hifumi and explain that everything that happened was because of Yusuke being Yusuke. She went to school with him. She should understand what that meant.

"Yes, I truly do." he replied. He quickly struck his Passion pose, looking at him expectantly. "Until we see again, Akira."

He looked at the artist for a moment before sighing softly.

What the hell, why not.

He struck the pose.

"Until we see again, Yusuke."

This was _definitely_ the strangest confidant event he had ever done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a fan of the anime adaptation of Persona 5, but it did offer a small, very small handful (VERY SMALL handful) of scenes that were pretty good. One is Hifumi walking in and finding Ren and Yusuke making the comically exaggerated Passion pose, watching them for a moment, and then walking back out of the church. I was honestly a little disappointed they didn't have that get mentioned in P5R (either shown or having her bring it up), but it is still too nice a scene to pass up using with poor Akira now stuck wondering if any chance of dating her for this loop being gone.
> 
> Now if only I was able to work in the line "Can't you see I'm doing my usual 'anime elbows up' pose." into this, everything would be perfect.


	30. Burn My Dread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, just another fun chapter with no actual connection to any greater arc that may or may not exist with the rest of the story.

Akira relaxed back into the seat of the train, his eyes closed with a soft smile on his face. He absently stroked his hand down Morgana's back, trying to keep the smile from turning into a smirk as the totally-not-a-cat purred. He let his mind wander to everything that happened since he came to Tokyo.

The friends he made.

The lives he changed.

Haru.

He knew Golden Week was only a few months away, but he was already counting down the days until he could come back and spend time with her. Eventually, summer break would come and he could come back and spend a month with her and the rest of the Thieves. Already, they were making plans to go on a trip around Japan. Eventually, Christmas and New Years would come, and then graduation. Then he could return to Tokyo for good, and hopefully spend the rest of his life with her.

He felt a small blush spread across his face at the thought.

Still, he couldn't hope but dream.

With that thought, he let himself start to doze off, knowing he could afford to take a small nap. He knew Morgana would wake him up once they reached their correct stop.

-

"Dreamless dorm, ticking clock. I walk away from the soundless room."

"What?" he muttered, opening his eyes. He quickly looked around, finding himself standing on a subway train instead of sitting on a Shinkansen. He couldn't see Morgana anywhere, nor his luggage. He turned to look out the window as the song continued to play through headphones he had on. It appeared to be night, wherever the hell he was.

He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, only to find an old flip phone. He opened it, and his eyes widened at the date that popped up.

April 6th, 2009.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

"I will, burn my dread! I once ran away from the god of fear and he chained me to despair!"

He reached up and found the cable for the headphones. He followed them down to an old MP3 player hanging around his neck, and turned the song off. He turned and looked back out the window toward the city around him, only for his view to be cut off a moment later as the train passed something, causing the glass to turn into a mirror. He gasped and took a step back at the unfamiliar face that was looking back at him.

"Now arriving at Port Island station. Port Island station. This is the last stop for this line." a voice said over the PA speaker. He looked up as the train pulled into the station. The door in front of him opened and he exited. He reached back into his pocket, having felt a folded pamphlet, and pulled it out. It was talking about some dorm that he was apparently to join. He figured he would try and get directions once he exited the station.

At that moment, the lighting inside the station changed. He looked up from the pamphlet, only to drop it at what he saw.

Coffins.

Where people once stood, there were coffins.

He also felt a familiar tingle along his skin, the same one he always felt while in the Metaverse. He looked down at himself, trying to will his weapons to appear, but nothing happened. His clothing also wasn't changing into his Thief outfit.

"What kind of person would have a cognition that sees people as coffins?" he muttered to himself, turning to walk out of the station. He moved cautiously, not used to being alone during a run. Even when he took care of Futaba's asshole uncle, he still had her and Morgana with him.

With nothing else to do but stand there wondering what was going on, he started to make his way toward the dorm.

He didn't know why, but some part of him deep down knew he would get answers if he went there.

At least, he hoped that was what the feeling was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, just a little short one-shot for fun. Also, I do know that you take on Futaba's uncle solo with only Futaba offering buffs. However, I threw Morgana in there as well since you take the request on while he's with you. Stands to reason he would have insisted on going in as well.


	31. An Entertaining Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place (again, relatively speaking) after Chapter 15 - Dethroning a Queen.

"You'll have to come up and visit me once the new Cake Knight movie comes out." Ryuji said, sitting at the bar in Leblanc a few days after Valentine's Day. It was close to closing time when the loud blond had walked in. Since there was really no other customers, Sojiro had no real issue with the teen staying in the cafe. The older man had since left, leaving the two of them alone.

"You could always come down here instead." Akira replied, beginning his preparations for closing the cafe. "You could just crash on the couch in my room and make a weekend of it. I'd have classes on Saturday morning, but I'm sure you could find something to do until I got out of class."

"I guess I could." he said, smirking. "I love how the place I'm going to lets you have the entire weekend off."

"Yeah, and in exchange you have an extra two hours of work during the week." Akira said, causing Ryuji to cover his ears.

"I can't hear you." he said loudly. "I'm busy trying to think about what I'll be doing with my extra free day." he continued, getting Akira to laugh. He opened his mouth to say something when the door opening cut him off. He turned to welcome the person, only to come up short when he saw who it was.

"So this is where you live?" the young woman said, causing him to smirk as Ryuji turned to face her as well.

"Welcome to Leblanc." he said, smiling at her. "What can I get you, Hifumi?"

"I'll take whatever you recommend." she replied. He nodded his head toward her and turned to look over the beans for a second before turning back to them.

"Hifumi, this is my friend Sakamoto Ryuji. He was also a part of the Phantom Thieves. He was one of, if not _the_ , founding member." he said, getting her eyes to widen. "Ryuji, this is Togo Hifumi. She's a professional shogi player, and goes to school with Yusuke."

"Yo." he said. Akira could tell he was doing his damn hardest to not stare at her.

"Good evening." she said, bowing slightly. "I wish to thank you for your help in changing my mother's heart."

"Uh...no problem." he said, scratching the back of his head slightly.

"So...forgive me if this sounds rude, but...do you know how to play shogi?" she asked, causing Akira to turn around and go back to trying to select the best blend of coffee to give her.

"Not really." he replied. "You play until one side has captured all of the other's pieces, right?"

"So you really are the Ryuji he mentioned to me." she said, her voice sounding happy. "He said he was going to sacrifice you to the Togo Kingdom in order to continue holding the throne he usurped."

"Wait, what!? Sacrifice!?" Ryuji yelled as Akira turned around with a jar of Kenyan coffee beans. "Dude, what the 'eff Bro!?"

"I figured you would make a good sacrifice should I ever have to make a run for it." he said, giving him a smirk worthy of Joker. "After all, if the Togo Kingdom ever regained its power, I figured an Immortal Dragon Guard should hold it off long enough to allow the Phantom Thief Joker to escape."

"...what?" he asked flatly.

"Of course, I told him that as the benevolent queen of the Togo Kingdom, I would take his discarded pawn and train him as a warrior for the Togo Kingdom." Hifumi said, looking at him. "After all, if his loyalty to his pawns is that weak, it should be no issue."

"I..." he trailed off, looking between them for a moment before shaking his head. "You know what, yeah. Yeah! 'Eff you Joker! The...uh...what was it...oh yeah! The Immortal Dragon Guard will follow the Queen of the Togo Kingdom and kick your ass!"

"Then we must train you." she said, walking over and sitting next to him. She pulled a small shogi board from her bag and placed it between them. "The first thing you must know about shogi is that the game does not end once all enemy pieces have been captured. Instead, it only ends once the king has been captured."

"Uh...okay." Ryuji said, looking down at the board as Hifumi started to put pieces down. Akira could tell that the blond had no idea the jokes were going to lead to this. He smiled slightly while starting to grind down the coffee beans, wondering how long Ryuji would last before he called it quits.

Still, it was entertaining to watch, if nothing else.

Three Weeks Later

"Checkmate!" Hifumi yelled, slamming the piece down on the board. He looked down at it, seeing no real option to escape.

"That it is." he said, bowing slightly. "The Phantom Thief Joker concedes defeat."

"It was all thank to your discarded pawn, whom the Queen of the Togo Kingdom raised up to be a knight." she replied haughtily, causing him to chuckle. He opened his mouth to say something when Hifumi's phone went off. She gave him a quick smile in apology before taking it out. Her smile grew as she read whatever it was someone sent her and she started to reply. Akira went to start resetting up the board, only for a phone-charm she had to draw his attention.

"Is that...a Skull mask?" he asked. He knew after everything with Shido and beating Yaldabaoth, the marketing for Phantom Thief materials started to raise again. One of the things that came out were phone-charms of based on their mask. He had seen various ones all over, but never noticed Hifumi having one before during any of the previous time-loops.

"Hmm?" she asked, looking up at him. He blinked at her for a moment before point toward the phone-charm.

"The phone-charm. It's a Skull mask, isn't it?" he asked again. She looked down at it and nodded.

"It is." she replied, smiling at it. "Ryuji bought it for me when he noticed I didn't have a phone-charm of any kind."

"Oh." he said, going back to the board. "Yeah, I can see Ryuji buying someone a...wait, what?" he asked again, looking up at her. "Ryuji bought it for you? When?"

"Last week." she replied, typing something on her phone and sending a reply to whoever had messaged her. "We were walking through Akibahara after playing shogi and he noticed the phone-charms. He bought me a Skull mask, and I bought him a knight shogi piece."

"So...he's still playing shogi with you?"

"He is." she replied, looking back up at him. "Is that a problem?"

"No." he said, shaking his head. "I'm just...I kinda thought he would have given up on shogi by now."

"I guess he found a reason to stick with it." she said, smiling at him.

"...I guess so..." he trailed off, looking back down at the board to continue setting it up for another game. He noticed Hifumi get another message, and her smile grow again as she read it before replying to it.

There was no way...

...right?

One Week Later

It was early in the evening when Ryuji walked back into Leblanc for the first time since he had met Hifumi. During the past week, Akira had been realizing that he had actually seen less of Ryuji than he had during the previous time-loops. Usually, the blond would try and hang out at least once a week, but they had only hung once twice since that evening, both times during the first week right after it happened. Since Akira had been trying to spend as much time as possible with Sae before the year reset again, he hadn't really thought much of it at the time. Only after playing shogi with Hifumi the week prior did it dawn on him.

"Welcome to Le...oh, it's you." Sojiro said, giving him a smirk. "Let me guess, the most bitter coffee I have, extra strong?"

"No." he said. He sat at the bar and turned to look between Akira and Sojiro for a moment before settling on the older man. "So...can I ask you a question, Boss?"

"I suppose." he replied. Akira went over to the fridge and grabbed one of the cans of soda they kept in stock for Ryuji.

"So...as you know...I didn't get any chocolates or anything from any girls for Valentine's Day."

"I remember." Sojiro said, stepping aside as Akira walked over and place the can of soda in front of Ryuji. The blond grabbed the can and opened it, taking a drinking for setting it back down on the counter.

"Well...if I managed to get a girlfriend after Valentine's Day but before White Day, should I do something big for her?"

"Holy shit!" Akira said, drawing their attention. "You mean you're actually dating Hifumi!? For real!?!" he yelled. A moment later both their phones rang. They pulled them out and saw a message from Futaba.

**ORACLE:** Let's get some "F's" in the chat for Akira saying "For real" people!

**ORACLE:** F

**ORACLE:** Mona also says "F"

**PANTHER:** F

**NOIR:** F

**QUEEN:** F

**FOX:** F?

Ryuji typed something on his phone and looked Akira in the eyes.

**SKULL:** F

"I guess I deserved that." Akira muttered, causing Ryuji to chuckle.

**ORACLE:** Also...Ryuji!!!

**ORACLE:** You have a girlfriend!?!?!?!!!!!111

**PANTHER:** Wait, what!?

**PANTHER:** Who!?!

**PANTHER:** How!?!

**NOIR** : Congratulations, Ryuji-kun!

**PANTHER:** When!?!

**FOX:** This is splendid news, my friend.

**FOX:** So...would you be willing to let me paint the two of you together.

**SKULL:** Dude! Hell no!

**ORACLE:** Mona: "I, too, wish to know the answers to Lady Ann's questions!"

Akira's phone dinged with another message, this time coming from Sae. He switched over to it, and started to chuckle as he read it.

**SAE:** I don't know what he did, but something your friend Ryuji did just broke my sister.

**SAE:** She is over here muttering about how nothing makes sense anymore.

**AKIRA:** Ryuji got a girlfriend. Apparently she can't comprehend it.

He quickly went back to the Phantom Thieves group chat to update everyone.

**JOKER:** Just heard from Sae. Apparently Queen.exe has stopped responding.

**PANTHER:** See! She gets it!

**ORACLE:** Ryuji broke Queen!

**SKULL:** Not responding anymore.

With posting that, he put his phone and silence and looked up at an amused Sojiro. They both could tell that the older man knew it must be the Phantom Thief group chat.

"So...Boss. Any ideas?" Ryuji asked, causing the older man to chuckle slightly.

"Well, let me give me you some." he said as Akira's phone dinged again. He looked down to see Sae was once again messaging him.

**SAE:** Ryuji. The dyed blond. The loud one. That Ryuji?

**AKIRA:** That very one.

**SAE:** I understand why she is sitting here questioning the universe.

Akira let out a small chuckle before turning back to Ryuji and Sojiro. His eyes caught the small phone-charm on his phone, a knight shogi piece. As he thought about Ryuji and Hifumi being together, he started to realize it made more sense than he initially thought.

Once he got out of this mess, he'd have to try and get the two of them together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, two of my favorite pairings for Persona 5 are rare-pairs, both of which started from reading other fics. I started to like the Akira/Sae ship from reading "Rising Star" by jtav, and the Ryuji/Hifumi ship from reading "Confidant Roulette" by vivvav. The reason I've been concentrating on a lot on them (mainly the Akira/Sae ship, but also a bit on this ship as well for this chapter) is because they are such rare-pairs and have little written for them. It's a crime. I've made my opinion known thus far about the lack of a romance option for Sae in P5 and P5R, but I also hope that Persona 6 has a feature to play matchmaker for the rest of your Social Links.


	32. The Big Bang Burger Challenge

"So...just how big is this burger again, Senpai?" Kasumi asked, looking up at him. For Akira's part, all he did was give her a small smirk. He knew the girl ate far more than most people due to her metabolism and her constant workout routine, but he never really knew what her limit was. In all the previous loops he had been through so far, he never once heard the words "I'm full" come out of her mouth.

He figured it was time to test that.

"Well, there are three levels." he said, leaning back. "The first is a fairly large burger. The second is an even larger burger. The final one is about the size of your torso."

"And the idea is to eat all three of them in one sitting?" she asked. Before he could respond, she nodded her head. "Okay. Let's do it."

_Well,_ he thought, _if nothing else this will be entertaining._

The Comet Burger

"So this wasn't that bad at all, Senpai." she said, leaning back after having finished the first burger of the challenge. For his part, he wasn't much behind her. "It wasn't that much more than a usual burger. In fact, I think I've had normal burgers that were bigger than this."

"Wait, are you serious?" Morgana asked from the Mona-bag.

"Of course I am, Mona-senpai." she replied as the waitress walked up to them.

"Congratulations on completing the first stage of the Big Bang Burger Challenge." she said, bowing slightly to Kasumi.

"Thank you." she replied, standing up and bowing back. "I'm ready for the next part of the challenge."

"The next part?" she asked, looking at her. "Um...we usually don't allow a contestant to take multiple parts at one time."

"What!?" Kasumi asked, taking a step back in shock. "But that wasn't even a big burger. Why can't I continue after that?"

"Wasn't a big..." the waitress trailed off, looking between the two of them.

"You know Okumura-senpai, don't you?" Kasumi asked, turning to look at him. "Can't you get her to okay it for us?"

"O...Okumura-senpai?" the waitress asked, turning to face him as well. "You mean, as in..."

"Okumura Haru." he said, smiling at her. "She's our senpai. I can call her up and see what she says."

"Call her?" she asked, looking shocked. "Call her?"

"Okay, I'll call her." he said, pulling out his phone. He called her and put it on speaker before the girl answered.

"Good evening, Akira-kun!" she answered, her cheerful voice coming through the phone speaker.

"Hey Haru." he said, watching as the waitress looked at him in shock out of the corner of his eye. "I'm here at the Big Bang Burger in Shibuya with Yoshisawa Kasumi, and we're trying to do the Big Bang Burger Challenge. Yoshisawa has it in her head that she can do all three levels in one sitting. I was wondering if you could pull some strings and allows us to do that?"

"Of course I can, Akira-kun!" she replied. "In fact, I'll head over myself. I'm curious to see if anyone can possibly do all three levels in one sitting as well."

"See you soon, then." he replied, hanging up. He looked up at the now pale waitress and smiled. "So, I guess we'll wait for Haru to show up before we continue."

The Gravity Burger

Akira and Kasumi managed to finish the burger at about the same time, much to the shock of the growing crowd. He knew that part of it had something to do with Haru showing up and sitting with them while they competed. Morgana had since left his bag and was sitting on Haru's lap, purring as she scratched behind his ears.

"Now that is what I would call a big burger." Kasumi said, taking a sip from her drink.

"That it is." Akira said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back as the waitress came up to them.

"Con...congratulations on completing the second stage of the Big Bang Burger Challenge." she said, her eyes constantly moving over to look at Haru. "Do you still wish to continue, or are you ready to stop?"

"I'm ready to continue." Kasumi said, smiling at Akira. "Are you ready, Senpai."

"Sure am." he said, leaning forward and rubbing the back of his neck. "Are _you_ sure you're ready? I've at least completed the challenge before."

"Of course I am, Senpai." she replied, smiling.

The Cosmo Tower Burger

Akira wasn't ready for this burger.

He looked at the half he still had sitting there, mocking him.

"So, is there a secret fourth stage?" Kasumi asked, looking between him and Haru.

"No." Haru replied. "However, I believe we should make what you just did the fourth stage."

Around them, the people packed inside the restaurant were talking excitedly at what they had just witnessed. If Akira didn't feel like his stomach was about to explode, he would probably be joining them.

"How..." Morgana asked, staring wide-eyed at Kasumi. "Just...how? Where does it all go?"

"That is not a polite question to ask a lady, Mona-chan." Haru said, turning down to look at the cat as the waitress walked up to them.

"Congratulations on completing the third stage of the Big Bang Burger Challenge, Miss." she said, looking and sounding shocked.

"Thank you." Kasumi said, standing up and bowing slightly. She sat back down and looked at Akira. "Aren't you going to hurry up and finish, Senpai?"

"I can't." he said, leaning his head on the table. "I don't even want to think about food right now."

"If you're sure." she said, turning to face Haru. "So, should we order some dessert, Okumura-senpai?"

"Seriously! How!? Where!?" Morgana yelled.

"Seconded." Akira muttered.

"Those are questions that a lady should not have to answer, you two." Haru said, smiling at them before turning back to Kasumi. "I'd be happy to get some dessert with you, Yoshizawa-chan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lets all take a moment to be honest. She would TOTALLY make the Big Bang Burger Challenge her bitch and do all three stages in one sitting.


	33. The Royal Thieves

As the Shadow faded away into nothingness, the three Persona users took a moment to recoup. Akira knew that Akechi didn't really need it, but that didn't change the fact that Kasumi did.

"So, I assume you're doing alright, Akechi-senpai?" he asked, getting the boy to turn toward him.

"Why are you calling him senpai, Akira-senpai?" Kasumi asked.

"Well, he did technically have his powers first." he said, doing his best to hide the smirk on his face. "If you're calling Mona and myself 'senpai' then I suppose I should do the same to him."

"I guess that makes sense." she said, turning to look at Akechi. "In that case, may I call you Akechi-senpai as well?"

"I don't care what the fuck you call me." he said, glaring at Akira for a moment before turning said glare toward Kasumi. "So long as you do exactly what Akira and myself tell you, Yoshizawa-san, then I really don't give a damn."

"I guess he's going through his tsun-tsun phase." Akira said, stretching slightly.

"My _what_?" Akechi asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Is that why he's acting like this, Akira-senpai?"

"Possibly." he said, letting the smirk slowly spread across his face.

"Is that your way of asking me to shoot you again?" Akechi asked, his voice dark. "Because if it is, I will _happily_ oblige."

"Shoot you!? Again!?" Kasumi asked, looking between the two of them. "You shot him before, Akechi-senpai!?"

"He shot me in the head." Akira said, putting his hands in his pockets while relaxing. "I got better, though."

"You shot him in the head!?"

"I shot a cognition of him in the head." he said, glaring. "He didn't have anything to 'get better' about. All I know is right now, I'm wishing I hadn't gotten better after being shot in Shido's Palace."

"You got shot also, Akechi-senpai!?" Kasumi yelled again, looking at him in shock before turning to look at Akira. "Did you shoot him in revenge, Akira-senapi?"

"No." he said, turning to look at her. "A cognition of himself shot him. No idea how he survived though."

"It must have been a miracle, then." she said, turning back to Akechi.

"More like a curse." he muttered, turning away from them. "If you two are quite finished, I'd like to hurry this along. The quicker we find out whose Palace this belongs to, the quicker we can figure out just what the hell is going on."

"So...who do you think it could be?" she asked, causing him to let out a small sigh.

"I don't know. Probably some cult leader, going by how they sound. Maybe it's that priest for that church you go to when you play shogi, Akira."

"Wait...you know about that?" he asked, truly shocked. He had never known that during any of the previous loops.

"Of course I know about it, you idiot." he said, turning to look back at him. "Maybe he got tired of trying to convert uninterested masses and decided to make them all drink the Kool-Aid." he continued, smirking at Akira. "Probably some Heaven's Gate looking motherfucker as well."

"What's wrong with Kool-Aid?" Kasumi asked, causing them both to look at her. "What?"

"I'm so fucked." Akechi muttered, shaking his head.

"A cult leader made his group drink poisoned Kool-Aid, which killed everyone in the cult." Akira said to her before turning back to Akechi. "Can we go back to the part where you somehow know about my going to that church to play shogi."

"You go there to play shogi with Togo Hifumi, female, age seventeen." he said, looking back up at him. "She was obviously one of your confidants, so I kept a close eye on her until I killed you, or rather killed your cognitive self in Sae's Palace. I knew going after the rest right after would be a mistake, so I stopped all observations in order to prepare to kill Shido."

"Akechi-senapi...have you...killed people before?" Kasumi asked.

"Of course I have." he said, turning toward her and giving his false Detective Prince smile. "I'm the one behind the metal shutdowns, all on orders from Shido."

"Yeah, old history, let's go back again to the part where you stalked me." Akira said, still shocked.

"I was simply trailing a criminal." he replied, smirking. "Once I figured out you were the leader of the Phantom Thieves, I knew that I would need more information on you. Who you hung out with, where you would go, who you would meet up with, even where you went on dates. All of that was done for preparation for after Shido's death, as well as insurance should the rest of the Phantom Thieves try anything before the election. The only reason I never moved forward with those plans was because I realized you were still alive."

"Yeah, well...I'm kinda hard to kill." he said, going back to his relaxed stance.

"So I've learned." he said, chuckling darkly. "How many times have I tried to kill you now?"

"Three times by my count." Akira replied, smirking.

"Maybe time number four will be the one that will succeed." he said lightly, the smirk evident in his voice.

"Doubtful." he replied, stretching slightly.

"With my luck, you'd only get more annoying." he said, turning to look at both of them for a moment. "Now, if we're done with useless banter, can we _please_ hurry the fuck up? The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can find someone to buy me enough alcohol or drugs to kill my memories of this bullshit, or kill myself. Right now, I don't care which one happens."

"Sure. I've just been waiting on you." Akira said, causing Akechi to let out a disgusted sigh.

"Of course you were." he muttered before turning to Kasumi. "Are you ready, Yoshizawa-san? Or are you too afraid to team up with someone who's admitted to being a serial killer?"

"No...I'm...I'm good to go." she said. Both boys could tell she didn't do a good job hiding the fear in her eyes.

"Good. Let's go." Akechi said, walking on. "This has to be Hell." he muttered softly. "Why the fuck else would I be brought back to life but to suffer dealing with these fucking idiots. If the rest of them show up, I may just blow my fucking brains out and to fucking hell with everything else."

"What was that, Akechi-senpai?" Akira asked, having heard what the boy said.

"I said hurry the fuck up, you piece of shit!" he yelled, causing Akira to chuckle.


	34. Sellout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, this is probably the weakest thing I have written in almost a decade. Still, here it is.

"I'd like to make a deal with you." he said, watching as Sae's eyes lit up. "I'll tell you who the rest of the Phantom Thieves are, and you reduce my sentence."

"Very well." she said, giving him a twisted smile. "I assume the list I just read off was correct?"

"Yes." he said, nodding his head. "Sakamoto Ryuji and Takamaki Ann were members since the beginning. We picked up Kitagawa Yusuke while changing Madarame's heart. Your sister, Nijima Makoto, forced our hand in accepting her so we could change Kaneshiro's heart. Sakura Futaba joined us in exchange for changing her own heart. And Okumura Haru joined us in hopes that we could change her father's heart."

"Very well." she said, leaning back in her chair. "With the exception of my sister, who was forced to join because of being blackmailed and coerced into it, the rest of you all joined of your own free will. I will see to it personally that your sentence is lessened from the death penalty. I may even be able to get your sentence reduced further to make sure you don't spend the rest of life behind bars."

"Not exactly the deal I was looking for." he said, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

"The crimes we have on you carry the death penalty. I'd have to imagine a life sentence would be preferable to that." she said, standing up. "Now, I need to go and get the arrest warrants written up. I'll be sure to come back, however, and find out about the rest of your confidants."

With that, she made her way out of the door, closing it behind her. He let out a sigh and leaned back, wondering if he really made the right decision. He was quickly running out of ideas on things to do in order to find a way out of this mess. Every loop so far, he had refused to take the deal Sae had offered him. This time, however, he figured he would try it. After all, worse that would happen is Akechi comes in and kills him, resetting everything again.

Akechi walking into the room with the guard was enough to make him realize this was all for naught. He killed the guard before turning to face him, a dark smile spread across his face.

"Have you finally pieced it all together?" he asked.

"I take it you're not here to save me?" he shot back, causing Akechi to laugh darkly.

"No, I'm not." he said, aiming the gun at him. "Why would I save you, anyways?"

"I can think of plenty of reasons to save me." he said, looking Akechi in the eyes.

"I'm sure you can." Akechi said, his smile growing. "But I only need one reason to want to kill you. You annoy the ever-loving shit out of me. Case closed." he finished, squeezing the trigger.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

Akira let out a small sigh, leaning his head back against the glass.

"That could have gone better." he muttered. "At least I learned that way doesn't work."


	35. Not Going Down Alone

He didn't know how or why, but somehow he got sucked into this Operation: Maid-Watch again. He looked over as Ryuji and Mishima paced nervously. Last time, they had ditched him as soon as Kawakami showed up. He never really said anything to them about it, but he at least excepted some loyalty from Ryuji. This time, he decided he wasn't going to give them the option.

As the doorbell rang, he let out a small smirk. He sure as hell wasn't going down alone this time.

"Good evening. I'm from the housekeeping service." Kawakami said through the door.

"What!? Already!?" Mishima yelled. "She's five minutes early! What do we do!?" he asked, turning to face them. "I'm not mentally prepare!"

"Oh, the door's unlocked?" her voice carried through. "Um...may I come in?"

"I...I can't do this!" Ryuji said loudly. "My stomach's actin' up! And my hands are all sweaty!"

_Seriuosly,_ Akira thought, _did they really think Kawakami couldn't hear them with all the yelling?_

"Okay, you handle the rest. And don't let her find out you're a high school student." Ryuji continued, actually talking quietly for once. "I've got your back. Just...from way back! Like, from the balcony."

"What? I can't do this either!" Mishima yelled. "Kurusu, we'll leave it to you!" he finished, making his way onto the balcony. Ryuji followed him and closed the balcony door the moment Kawakami walked in.

"Excuse me." Kawakami said, walking in. "Oh, there you are! Welcome home, Master. I'm going to fill your tired heart full of lovely energy. Nyaa!"

Akira tried to ignore just how much he liked the little "Nyaa!" she put at the end.

"I'm Becky, and I have the pleasure of serving you today." she continued.

"Nice to meet nyaa." he said, looking slightly back at her. He ignored the slight snort he heard coming from the balcony.

"Hold on..." she muttered. "Oh my, how thoughtless of me! I should explain our services to you, Master! What would you like me to do today? The basics include cooking, cleaning, laundry..." she trailed off for a moment before continuing, her voice taking a seductive tone. "But there are other 'services' we provide if you desire."

Even though he knew she never outright told him what said "services" were, he was torn between hating that those bastards blackmailing her forced her into a position of having to offer them and wishing she would give them only to him.

"You look young, Master." she said, walking up to him. "Are you, perhaps, in high school?"

"Actually, I'm a dad." he said.

"What!?" he heard Mishima squeak out.

"Shut up!" he heard Ryuji hiss loudly.

"Wow! Your skin's so healthy!" Kawakami said, feigning shock. "You're not lying to me, are you?" she asked, pausing a moment before continuing. "I'll wait to provide those other 'services' until you've matured a bit, Master. So, I'll be going now."

"What!? No!" Ryuji yelled.

"Quiet!" Mishima yelled even louder.

He truly was beginning to wonder just how they managed to keep being Phantom Thieves a secret.

"Is someone there!?" Kawakami asked, her voice commanding.

"It's just my kids." Akira said, walking over and opening the door. "I figured if we were going to partake in some of the more interesting 'services' I should be a good father and put them outside. Kids, come say 'Hello' to the nice maid."

"Dude, what the eff!?" Ryuji yelled.

"Sakamoto!? Mishima!?" she yelled, looking between the two on the balcony. She turned and looked at Akira, her eyes widening even more in shock. "Kurusu!?"

"Wait...Kawakami!?" Mishima yelled, causing her to snap back at them. "You...you moonlight as a maid!?"

"Wait, what!?" Ryuji yelled even louder. "Fo'real!?"

"Who the hell put you three up to this!?" she yelled, glaring at them. "Was it the principle!? The student-council president!? Ms. Chouno!? I bet it was her, wasn't it!? That bitch! What were you promised!? An easy 'A' for the year!?"

"No one did, we swear!" Mishima said, pulling out the flyer. "I found this in Akihabara! I figured we should call to make sure nothing shady was going on! We swear!"

"Akihabara?" she asked, taking the flyer. After looking over it for a moment she sighed and crumpled it up. "Alright you three, here's the deal. You don't mention this to anyone. You never talk about it. I was never here, and you were never here. Got it? It cannot get out that I'm moonlighting as a maid. Likewise, it would be bad for it to get out that you three decided to call a sex service agency."

"Wait...you mean you're a...?" Ryuji asked, his eyes going wide.

"No I'm not!" she snapped. "The company I work for has a sister agency that is one, however. I'm sure I don't need to say it, but it would not be in your best interest to cross me on this. You talk, and I make sure I take you down with me."

"Yes, ma'am." Ryuji and Mishima said in unison. She turned to him after a moment, her glare intensifying.

"Well, Kurusu? Anything you're like to say?"

"If I'm the Team Dad, does that mean I can count myself as a Dad outside the team as well?" he asked, causing her to blink in shock at him.

"Dude, totally not the time right now." Ryuji muttered as Kawakami's glare grew.

"Are you serious right now!?" she yelled at him. "I can have you expelled! I'm also willing to bet that your probation officer would not take kindly to finding out the reason you were expelled was because you called for a sex worker! Considering this isn't even where you live, we can also include breaking and entering to that as well! Is that really what you want!?"

"Not really, Becky." he said, smirking.

"You...I...you..." she stuttered before closing her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out. "Just don't talk about this. Ever again. I'll make sure you're not charged for this. Just...don't ever talk about this again." she said, turning around. "I think I'd prefer if it had been that bitch Chouno that found out instead." she muttered, walking out of the apartment.

"Dude, what the eff!?" Ryuji yelled, turning to face him. "Why the hell did you expose us like that!?"

"What he said!" Mishima yelled.

"Because." he said, smirking at them as he pushed up the fake glasses to catch and reflect the glare of the lights. "I sure as hell wasn't going to go down alone."


	36. March 20th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after Chapter 27 - Another White Day.

"You seem tense." Sae said, breaking through to him. He looked up at her and gave her a small smile before turning back to his coffee. He let out a small sigh and placed his hand on top of hers.

"Just...a lot on my mind." he said, looking back up at her after a moment. She nodded her head in understanding. She slowly threaded her fingers with his and started to rub her thumb across his.

Today was March 20th.

So far, he had managed to last longer than ever before. By this time, the world would have reset. Rather it be on the train home, or in the van being driven back, without fail he would normally be back to the start of his year in Tokyo. While he couldn't stop the growing seed of hope that maybe he had finally broken out of the loops, a greater part of him felt the growing dread that everything would once again reset.

"If someone had told me a year ago I'd be sitting here in Leblanc with a boyfriend, I probably would have laughed in their face." she said, getting Akira to squeeze her hand.

"I would have as well." he said, turning to face her. "I'd also laugh in the face of anyone who said I'd be sitting with a boyfriend inside a cafe I'd never heard of."

"I'm sure you would." she said, chuckling slightly. "You were originally supposed to go home today, right?"

"Yeah." he said, looking away for a moment. "To be honest, I really wasn't looking forward to it."

"Prefer the city life?" she asked, getting him to nod his head.

"Better company, if nothing else." he said, turning to smirk at her. Her face flushed slightly before she looked away. She looked down at her watch and let out a small sigh.

"I should get going." she said, causing him to look at his watch as well. It was ten to midnight. Ten minutes left before he found out if he managed to escape the nightmare or not.

"Sure you can't stay longer?" he asked, keeping his voice light. In all honesty, he was hoping she would stay until past midnight. Either she would be with him as he escaped, or he could spend as many seconds as possible with her before everything finally reset.

"I have an early start tomorrow." she said. Akira simply nodded his head and got out of the booth, allowing her to get up as well. She stretched slightly, looking over her shoulder at him as his eyes roamed down her figure. He looked back up at her eyes and blushed slightly as being caught. All she did was smirk at him.

"Sorry." he muttered, causing her let out a small laugh.

"Normally, I hate when men do that." she said, putting her arms behind his neck. "But I'll make an exception for you." she finished, leaning in to kiss him. He kissed her back for a moment before she pulled away from him. "I should be able to stay longer tomorrow evening."

"I look forward to it." he said, doing his best to keep his voice even. She smiled at him before dropping her arms and making her way to the door. He watched her before opening his mouth as her hand made for the doorknob. "Hey, Sae."

"Yes?" she asked, turning to face him.

_I love you._

_I've never felt this way about anyone else before._

_I love you._

_Please don't leave me._

_I love you._

_Please stay the night with me._

_I love you._

He had so many things he wanted to say to her. He opened his mouth to say any of them, only to close it again. He wanted to say them so bad, but was afraid. He didn't want to come off as needy should he actually have managed to escape the time-loops. Likewise, he didn't want the last thing he saw before it reset to be Sae walking out on him in disgust.

"Have a safe trip home." he finally said, smiling softly. She smiled back at him and nodded her head.

"I'll see you tomorrow." she said before walking out.

He stood there a moment before walking over and locking the door. He put the coffee cups in the sink to soak and turned the light off in the cafe before making his way up to his room. Once up there, Morgana sat up from his spot on a shelf and stretched.

"Ms. Nijima leave for the night?" he asked, getting Akira to nod.

"Yeah, she left." he said, grabbing his nightclothes. He quickly changed and sat on the bed. He looked down at his phone, seeing the time.

11:58:23 PM.

He sat there, doing his best to control his breathing. He would go to sleep as soon as it hit 12:01 AM. As soon as he watched the date change over, he could sleep. He checked the time again.

11:58:57 PM.

One more minute. He just had to go one more minute and then he would find out if he really did get out of this nightmare. He would find out if he got out of this nightmare, and got to stay in Tokyo where he would take over Leblanc. Where he would get to be with Sae. He checked the time again.

11:59:32 PM.

Thirty more seconds. Just thirty more seconds before he found out. He could do this. He looked over at Morgana and saw that he had lied back down, most likely waiting for him to finally go to sleep before making his way over. He checked the time again.

11:59:57 PM.

...

11:59:58 PM.

...

11:59:59 PM.

...

11:59:59 PM.

...

11:59:59 PM.

"...no." he muttered, looking at the frozen time on his phone. "No. No!" he yelled. He looked over at Morgana and saw him still lying there, having not reacted to his yelling.

Suddenly, he felt his eyelids grow heavy. He felt himself grow more tired than he had ever felt before as he lied back on the bed. He knew what was coming. He knew what would happen. It had happened so many times already, yet he hadn't felt the desire for it to not happen as strongly as he did now.

"Sae..." he muttered as his eyes closed, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

He tried to open his eyes, tried to force himself to wake up.

"...I love you..." he muttered softly.

As sleep overtook, he knew exactly what the next sound he would hear would be...

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."


	37. Deadpan

"So...we need to have a chat, Bro." Ryuji said out of the blue one day during a meeting. Akira looked over at him, trying to remember what this conversation was about. He couldn't remember ever having this conversation, and wondered what he changed in order to get it. If nothing else, maybe the change would snowball and allow this insanity to end.

"What is it?" he asked, noticing the rest of the Phantom Thieves turning to look at him as well. Now he was really confused.

"You actually seem surprised, for once." Makoto said, causing him to turn and look at her. "I have to admit, I think this is the first time I've ever seen that look on your face."

"What are you talking about?"

"We have discussed this amongst ourselves." Yusuke said, drawing his attention. "We have all come to the unanimous conclusion that nothing ever surprises you."

"Well, you're obviously wrong." he said, looking at all of them. "After all, Makoto just said I seem surprised right now."

"Yeah, for the first time." Ryuji shot back, leaning forward in his seat. "When we stumbled into Kamoshida's Palace, you showed zero emotion. It was like nothing surprised you. Hell, even when we met Morgana you showed no surprise."

"He's right, Akira." Morgana said. Akira figured he was using his name to try and get the point across. "Even when I started talking to you while hiding in your desk for the first time, you never reacted at all. Everyone else has, except for you."

"When Shiho jumped, you seemed way to calm." Ann said, looking at him. "It was almost like you either didn't care or you knew she wouldn't die."

"During Madarame's Shadow's confessions, you looked almost bored." Yusuke said, leaning back in his chair slightly. "It was almost as if you had heard it all before."

"The same with Kaneshiro." Makoto said, crossing her arms. "You didn't even bat an eye when he demanded three million yen. Why is that?"

He looked between all of them, knowing he couldn't give them a real answer. He had tried many times during his first loop to tell someone, _anyone_ , about what was happening to him. He even risked telling Yaldabaoth, only to be physically unable to say anything. Even though they were touching on the truth, he couldn't open his mouth to tell them they were right.

"Seeing as time travel isn't exactly possible, and if it was I'd rather hope you would have fixed things, are you some kind of prophet or seer?" she asked, getting him to look at her.

He realized at that point that he never could let them know the truth. She had a point, if he knew things were going to go bad, he would have done the right thing and changed them. He tried, he had tried to save Shiho when this nightmare all started, but he'd been stopped from doing so. It seemed whatever...thing...was in control of this would allow him to make the change, only to reset everything again. Still, he didn't want them to think he was a seer. While it would be an easy excuse for what would happen during the rest of the year, if he managed to finally escape this time it would cause issue when he stopped being able to predict things.

"I'm not one." he said, shaking his head. "Like you said, if I was one I would have stopped things from happening."

"That still doesn't explain how you can be so deadpan about things." Ann said, bringing his attention to her. "Nothing that we have done has seemed to surprise you at all. Until we saw the surprise on your face just now, I didn't even know you could show emotion."

"Seriously, Bro, what the eff's up with you?" Ryuji asked.

**IT SEEMS YOU HAVE REACHED A BLOCKING POINT.**

_No! Not again!_ he tried to yell as everything froze.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

Akira sat in the train and lowered his head, closing his eyes in the process. He took the fake glasses off and rubbed his face before putting them back on and sitting up.

"I'm going to have to work on my acting." he muttered to himself, opening his eyes to look at the news displayed above the windows of the subway car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I may not respond to most of them, I do read every review that is posted. I've hinted a few times that Akira is physically unable to tell anyone about what is happening to him. This time, I'm overtly stating that he can't. And, worse, if others start to catch on he will be reset back to the beginning.


	38. Igor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really more a short setup chapter for Chapter 42 posting next week.

"Welcome to my Velvet Room." he heard the gravelly voice say. He looked up at Yaldabaoth, currently pretending to be Igor. He knew that he couldn't say anything about knowing who he was. At first, he thought it was because the twins were there. If what that voice he had heard twice before said was true, however, then even Yaldabaoth was nothing more than a pawn, an insignificant one at that.

The fact that there was something powerful enough to consider Yaldabaoth nothing more than an insignificant pawn truly terrified him. Every battle against the fake god was still a nightmare. Even with his maxed out Compendium, with every possible piece of armor and weapon maxed out, the battle was still the hardest thing he had done. Whatever...thing...was out there making him constantly relive this same year over and over again, he really hoped he never had to fight it.

He did start to wonder, though, about the offer Yaldabaoth would make him upon being found out. He always refused to take the offer, but he was also quickly running out of options. He had tried just about everything he could think of in order to escape, save taking Maruki's offer. Maybe Yaldabaoth's offer would be the correct way to escape? After all, it was the one thing he hadn't tried yet.

He also had to admit, the offer sounded good. One of the only things he regretted during his first time through the year was the fact that there was still so much evil in the world. Yaldabaoth had offered up the ability to change it all on a silver platter, and they had turned it away. They essentially left the world to its own devices in the hope that maybe a few honest people would manage to change everybody that was corrupt without the Metaverse.

"What ails you, Trickster?" Yaldabaoth asked, drawing his attention back to the thing.

"Nothing." he replied, smiling slightly. "Just made a decision on something. I decided to take an offer that I'm pretty sure someone will be making me in the future."

"Very well." he replied. "The bonds that you form with those around you will of course help with your rehabilitation. This will also help lead the world away from the path of ruin."

"I know it will." Akira said, nodding his head.

It had to be the right way out.

Taking Yaldabaoth's offer and remaining as the Phantom Thieves had to be the correct decision.

It _had_ to be.

_Then why do I feel like I just sold my soul?_ Akira thought to himself, feeling as though someone had just walked over his grave.


	39. When Choreography Fails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My original idea for this chapter was to have Akira trying to insert memes into as many conversations as possible due to boredom. Only Futaba approved. However, I had no idea how to really do that, so I pushed it back twenty-five chapters. Taking my vacation into consideration, that was a month ago now. I still have no better idea now than I did then.
> 
> So, here's the backup plan, thought up two nights ago by my Beta, based on our joking while she was watching me play the original Persona 5 back in 2017.

"Well...it looks like the bones in your hand were broken. And then healed. And healed badly on top of that." Tae said, looking Akira in the eyes with a leveled glare. "Care to tell me how you managed to somehow do that all in the span of a day?"

"I...kinda hit one of my teammates by accident. My second-in-command, actually." he said, getting her to raise an eyebrow. "Said blow was to the face. Her mask is also a solid piece of metal."

"...what?" she asked flatly, causing him to reach up and rub the back of his neck.

"So, you see..."

-

"Joker, look! Treasure!" he heard Oracle over an earpiece. Even after all these loops, he was still surprised how the Metaverse worked at time. They needed a way for Oracle to be able to contact them, and they all magically gained earpieces after she had awaken to her Persona. They never noticed it during the fight with her cognitive mother, but his second time through he distinctly felt it appear. He scanned the area for a moment before seeing the treasure chest tucked away in a corner. He let out a smirk and made his way toward it.

"We look clear, Joker." Queen said, running up with him for cover. He nodded as he reached the chest and noticed it was locked.

"It's locked." Mona said, coming up behind him as well. "Good thing you have an unbreakable lock pick!"

"That it is." Akira said, pulling it out and unlocking the chest. He felt Queen lean up against him, and tried to not think to hard about how nice her body felt against his. He reached into the chest and pulled out a bead chain. She jumped a bit in excitement for such a good item before they both turned around.

Generally, they all had a system. They would move in a way so that he could swing his arm out without hitting them. Oracle blamed him for wanting to just be Extra. He really couldn't blame her. Nevertheless, they all knew the movement, and all of them adapted to it.

This time, Queen didn't.

As he spun around, he realized that she hadn't moved yet. He saw the moment she realized it, and quickly turned away. He tried to stop himself, but he had already gained too much momentum. His hand hit her mask at full speed, and he felt the bones in his hand break.

"Fuck!" he yelled, dropping to his knees and cradling his hand.

"Joker!" Queen yelled, kneeling next to him. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

"Joker!" Mona yelled, rushing over. He looked at the quickly become bruised mess that was once his hand.

"Joker's down!" Oracle yelled, causing the rest of the Phantom Thieves to run over to them.

"Oh shit!" Skull yelled, rushing over. "Was the chest a Mimic!?"

"Don't joke like that, Skull!" Panther yelled, rounding the corner. "But was it a Mimic!?"

"No...something worse." Joker replied, holding his good hand up to point at Queen's mask. "It was Queen's mask that did this to me."

"...Queen's mask." Skull said flatly.

"It attacked me."

"How did it attack you?"

"It was sitting there as I spun around and I ended up hitting it full speed. I think I may be dying."

"Press 'F' to pay respects." Skull said, looking down at him.

"F." Panther said, shaking her head.

"F." Skull said, smirking at him.

"F." Oracle said, the laughter evident in her voice.

"Why are we saying 'F' and how does that pay respects to anything?" Fox asked, looking around the group.

"If you three are finished." Queen said, the tone in her voice stopping their joking around. "We need to heal him."

"Carmen." Panther said, ripping her mask off. Joker felt the healing magic start to set in, and noticed the damage in his hand start to fade away.

He also noticed that his fingers did not seem to have healed exactly straight.

"Um..." he muttered, looking down at his hand.

"That...doesn't look good." Panther muttered, looking at his hand.

"I think I'm going to have to go see a doctor tomorrow." he muttered, looking down at his mostly healed hand.

"I'm so sorry, Joker." Queen said again.

-

"...and that's the story on how I broke my hand." he finished his recollection, smirking at Tae. She looked at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"I really do worry about you sometimes, Guinea Pig." she muttered, turning away from him.


	40. Burn My Dre-WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE!?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter just for fun.

Akira relaxed back into the seat of the train, his eyes closed with a soft smile on his face. He absently stroked his hand down Morgana's back, trying to keep the smile from turning into a smirk as the totally-not-a-cat purred. He let his mind wander to everything that happened since he came to Tokyo.

The friends he made.

The lives he changed.

Ann.

He knew Golden Week was only a few months away, but he was already counting down the days until he could come back and spend time with her. Eventually, summer break would come and he could come back and spend a month with her and the rest of the Thieves. Already, they were making plans to go on a trip around Japan. Eventually, Christmas and New Years would come, and then graduation. Then he could return to Tokyo for good, and hopefully spend the rest of his life with her.

He felt a small blush spread across his face at the thought.

Still, he couldn't hope but dream.

With that thought, he let himself start to doze off, knowing he could afford to take a small nap. He knew Morgana would wake him up once they reached their correct stop.

-

He slowly opened his eyes for a moment before closing them again, still tired and half asleep. They snapped open again once his mind registered the unfamiliar ceiling, as well as the fact that he wasn't on the train he was on when he dozed off.

"Morgana, where..." he trailed off as he started to get up. He felt his heart rate start to speed up at the voice that had come out of his mouth. The _feminine_ voice that most definitely _was not_ his. He quickly sat up, causing the sheet he had over himself to fall off, exposing the light pink sleepwear he was in.

It also exposed the two mounds on his chest that most definitely _were not_ there when he dozed off.

He sat there for a moment, looking down, before slowing reaching a hand up. He placed it on the mound and squeezed. He felt it, and let go, watching and feeling as the mound bounced slightly. He quickly leaned forward a bit and put his thumb into the waistband of the bottoms he was wearing. He took a deep breath and pulled them away slightly. His face flushed at what he saw and he jumped out of the bed. He saw a mirror on the wall and ran over coming to stop in front of it and feeling his heart stop.

The person looking back at him resembled Yoshizawa Kasumi slightly, just with a lighter shade of red hair. That was where any resemblance to anyone he knew ended. Whosever body he was in, he had no idea who it was.

"Okay." he muttered, watching as the body he was inhabiting formed the word. "I'm pretty sure this isn't some weird dream." he said, reaching up. He pinched his cheek and winced at the pain. "Okay, not dreaming. So I'm really in some girl's body. I cannot look at her body." he said, looking in the reflection. "It would be rude. Even though I'm eventually going to have to change clothes. And use the toilet. And bathe." he continued, feeling and watching his face flush. "Maybe I should just get it over with now. I mean, not like I haven't seen Ann naked before. This is no different. I'm just going to look in order to get this over with. That is the only reason why." he said, moving his hands up to start unbuttoning the top.

-

"I can't believe that new girl is still sleeping." Takeba Yukari muttered, walking up to the door. She let out a sigh and banged on the door. "Hey, Arisato! Wake up!" she yelled, turning the doorknob and finding it unlocked. She opened the door and walked in, her eyes closed in a sigh before looking up. "Come on, let's-holy shit!" she yelled, backing out of the room as Minako yelled in shock. She slammed the door behind her, her face flushed red. She slowly cracked it behind her, making sure to keep the door mostly closed.

"I swear, it's not what it looks like!" the girl inside the room yelled. "I mean...I guess it kinda was, but there was a reason why I was doing that, I swear! I was just...uh..."

"Look, I don't care what you do to wake up in the morning. You want to finger yourself in the morning, fine, have it." Yukari said. "Just...make sure to lock the door next time, okay."

"Uh...yeah...I will."

"Good." she said, closing the door. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She heard the door lock behind her and let the breath out.

"Next time, I'll risk an execution and make Mitsuru wake her up." she muttered, shaking her head as she walked away.


	41. Second-in-Command

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place just prior to Chapter 05 - Useless.

"Everything's ready." Akira said, holding Makoto close to him. He felt her nod her head against his neck, and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "All that's left is to give you my final orders should something go south."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at him. "Nothing is going to go wrong."

"Makoto."

"I don't want to hear it, Akira." she said, sitting up. "Nothing is going to happen, alright. You have to believe that. Nothing is going to happen."

"I know." he said, taking her hands in his. "I have absolute faith in you. I have absolute faith in your plan. But that doesn't mean there shouldn't be a backup plan."

"I know." she said softly, looking away from him. He pulled her close to him and felt her clutch onto him tightly. He knew that nothing would go wrong. He had learned over the years every answer he had to give Sae in order to make it through. But that still didn't stop him from giving Makoto orders each time before they sent the calling card. He never wanted to risk something going wrong and things _not_ resetting for once. He knew from his last time through that selling out the rest of the Phantom Thieves didn't end the loop, but better safe than sorry.

"You're going to have to control Ryuji's impulses." he said, looking her in the eyes. "He'll want to get revenge immediately after it's confirmed I've really been killed. You'll have to stop that from happening. Akechi won't make a move right away, at least not until he manages to go after his primary target."

"How do you know that?" she asked, looking at him confused for a moment.

"He said something in front of me that he really shouldn't have." he lied. "His main target is Shido Masayoshi."

"The politician!?" she asked, her eyes widening in shock. "Why is he going after him?"

"I don't know." Akira lied. "All he said was that it was personal."

"Still..." she trailed off, looking away for a moment.

"Morgana knows who my confidants are." he continued, drawing her attention back to him. "If I don't make it out of this, have him take you to them and convince them to go to ground. I wouldn't put it past Akechi to start with them." he said, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. Granted, he knew for a fact that Akechi would go after them eventually. The murderer had admitted as much during his fourth time through this mess.

"And us?"

"Run." he said, causing her to look at him in shock. "I have zero doubt in my mind that Akechi will go after you and your families. Should Shido be elected, change Sae's heart and run. Convince Sojiro and Ryuji's mom to run as well."

"So that's it..." she muttered, trailing off as she looked away again. "Just run?"

"Akechi's orders will be to execute you all." he said, looking down for a moment. "I'm not saying it's useless, but it will be dangerous to try and go against him when he knows who you are and where you're located."

"...useless..." she muttered.

"Yeah." he replied. "It's pretty much useless."

"So when all's said and done, I'm still useless." she muttered again, catching his attention.

"What?" he asked, the confusion evident in his voice. "You're not useless."

"Sae thinks I am." she said, still looking away from him. "Ann said I was. Everyone thinks it."

"I don't." he said, reaching up to turn her head toward him. "What makes you think Sae thinks that?"

"She said it to me." she replied, her eyes looking down. "She said I was useless to her, since all I do is eat away at her life."

"What?" he asked, shocked. This wasn't the Sae he knew. One of the few joys he had was watching these two sisters regain their relationship and bond with each other again. He had watched Makoto bring a positive change to Sae, watched as Sae started to open up and smile more. Likewise, he had watched as Makoto became more sure of herself after Sae changed. He had seen them both look happy together.

"She said she was sorry after saying it, but..." she trailed off, still not looking up at him. He noticed tears starting to fall. "I know she still thinks it. I know it's the truth, as well. I try so hard, but nothing I do ever seems good enough for her. I guess it must be true, then."

"You know it's because of her distorted desire." he said, pulling her into his arms. "You know that's why she said it. She loves you, Makoto."

"How do you know that!?" she screamed, pulling away from him. "She doesn't love me, Akira! She hates me! I see it every time she looks at me! She probably wouldn't even care if I had been forced into prostitution by Kaneshiro! She's probably be thrilled about the promotion she would get and the publicity she could use!"

"That's not true, Makoto!" he yelled, causing her to flinch. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them again and looked into her. "You know that's not the truth."

"But what if it is?" she asked, the tears still falling. "What if it's the same for us? What if you decide that I'm just eating away at your life as well?"

"Come here." he said, pulling her into his arms. She gripped him tightly and started to cry as he held her. After a moment, he stood up with her and made his way to his bed, lying her down on it before lying down himself. He held her close to him for almost an hour as she cried.

"I'm sorry, Akira." she said softly, causing him to tighten his hold on her.

"Don't be." he said, kissing her forehead. "You have nothing to apologize for. You're not useless. You're never going to eat away at someone's life, rather they be me or someone else. I promise you. No one will ever feel that way."

"But Sae-"

"Has distorted desires." he said, cutting her off. "You know that to be true. She would never have said those things if her desires weren't distorted like they are."

"I know." she said softly. "You're right. I do know that. But I'm still scared that she may be have been right, that I really will eat away at people's lives. I'm scared that I'll eat away at your life."

"You won't do that." he said, looking her in the eyes. "Even _if_ we don't end up together, it will never be because you 'ate away at my life' or some such bullshit. I don't want to hear that from you."

"Okay." she said softly, closing her eyes and leaning into him. "Can...can I stay here tonight?"

"Yeah." he said, holding her close. "You can borrow one of my shirts."

"Okay." she said, pulling away to reach up and kiss him. "I love you, Akira."

"I love you too, Makoto." he said, smiling at her. He got up and grabbed a clean shirt for her to wear as well as his usual sleepwear. "I'll head downstairs and change in the restroom. I'll call up first to make sure you're ready."

"Okay." she said. He handed her a shirt and made his way downstairs to change. He entered the restroom and looked in the mirror for a moment, his eyes dark.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Sae?" he muttered, shaking his head. He knew she only said those things because of her distorted desires. He had seen the change in her, and knew that the two sisters grew closer.

He only hoped he would be able to keep his cool when they got to the part of the interrogation where Makoto joined the Phantom Thieves.


	42. We Show No Sign of Stopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Chapter 38 - Igor.

"On to other news." the newscaster said. Akira stopped and looked up at the giant screen in Shibuya, keeping his emotions hidden. "The police have officially withdrawn the arrest warrant on the Phantom Thieves, as well as apologized for those who led the investigation, citing they were inadequate for the task. Due to the drastic change in policy, it is speculated that they had a...'change of heart'...as well."

"So the police were in the wrong after all. They're the ones who must've been doing shady stuff." a man in a business suit said.

"There's no way the Phantom Thieves could be evil." a businesswoman said, seeming to agree with the man behind her.

"The actions of the Phantom Thieves show no sign of stopping." the newscaster continued. "Change of heart police reports have already surpassed one hundred cases."

"Only a hundred? I thought it would've been double that already." a college student said, his voice showing the shock he felt.

"Yeah, I know whatcha mean." his friend said. "We see news on them every day."

"Meanwhile, there are reports that the rate of crimes and suicides are declining." the newscaster continued. "This has also been attributed to the Phantom Thieves, with those who claimed to be considering suicide saying the thoughts leading them to it vanished after having received a calling card."

"Will things be all right?" a heavily pregnant woman asked her husband, placing her hand over her swollen stomach.

"It just means that more cases are being exposed thanks to the Phantom Thieves." her husband said, putting his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll do something about all that."

He turned away from the crowd, wondering what they would do if they knew their hero stood amongst them. He felt a smirk grow on his face at the thought of them knowing their god was amongst them.

He smothered the smirk and walked off, pulling his phone out in the process. He opened the group chat and typed a quick message.

**JOKER:** They just confirmed it on live television. We are now free to act.

**ORACLE:** I've prepared the list I managed to hack from the government. We're good to go.

**QUEEN:** My sister gave me a list of every dirty cop and prosecutor she knows of.

**QUEEN:** I've already checked. Most are in Mementos, but some have a Palace.

**CROW:** I'm still working through Shido's records.

**CROW:** So far, it looks like every person in them have Palaces.

**PANTHER:** I've managed to ID about thirty producers so far. All have Palaces.

**FOX:** I've managed to find a dozen in the art world so far who have Palaces.

**SKULL:** I've been keeping my ear to ground for the most part on the street.

**SKULL:** Only a few Palaces, but hundreds of hits for Mementos.

**NOIR:** Pretty much every President and Officer of every company on this island has a Palace.

**NOIR:** Except for me, of course.

**MONA:** I've managed to ID a few Persona users in the area we need to be mindful of.

**MONA:** Shirogane Naoto, Kujikawa Rise, and Kujikawa's husband Narukami Yu.

**JOKER:** Alright. We'll need to think of a way to neutralize that threat without drawing attention.

**CROW:** I could always take care of them for you.

**MONA:** Based on who two of them are, it may be the better idea, Joker.

**MONA:** We can have Crow murder Kujikawa in a way that has Narukami blamed.

**MONA:** That would take care of those two.

**CROW:** As for Shirogane, that will take a bit more finesse.

**QUEEN:** It would probably be safer to not even have you involved with her disposal.

**QUEEN:** You could very well be one of the first suspects.

**CROW:** True. Then again, it would finally get us that vacation we've wanted.

**QUEEN:** That would be nice.

**NOIR:** I could take care of her for you.

**QUEEN:** But then I don't get my vacation.

**JOKER:** We'll keep that as a backup plan, but I'm thinking you're right.

**JOKER:** Meet back at Leblanc. We'll go through all the information we gathered there.

**JOKER:** The public is waiting for us to make our move. Let's not keep them waiting.

He read the messages of everyone confirming their meeting and put his phone back in his pocket. He looked up and let out an evil smirk.

"We show no sign of stopping, Japan." he said softly.

**IS THAT SO?**

He tried to look for where the voice was coming from, but he couldn't move. Everything around him was frozen, just like that time all those years ago when he tried to save Shiho during his second time through, just like when the rest of the Phantom Thieves got to close to the truth during his sixth time through.

_Wait...second time through? Sixth?_

**WERE EVEN YOUR MEMORIES ERASED?**

Suddenly, years worth of memories flashed through his mind. He saw himself reliving the past year over and over again, every time trying to find something to change. He saw this past time, where he decided to take Yaldabaoth's offer in the hope it may change and lead him to escaping the endless loops.

**THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.**

_We're doing good!_ he yelled in his mind. _We're able to help people and we're putting a stop to crime!_

**THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.**

_We're the Phantom Thieves! We're supposed to help people!_

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

"Shit! Fuck!" he yelled out, causing the people around him to stare at him in shock. He looked down, trying to keep his anger contained. Yaldabaoth had given him exactly what he had promised. The world forgot about hating the Phantom Thieves. Akechi was still alive and on their side. Mona, apparently, was human. They were allowed to operate with impunity. Their word was law.

"Damn it." he muttered, shaking his head.

He knew it was wrong. He remembered the thrill he felt when he considered himself the public's god. They were having a casual conversation about killing two woman simply for being Persona users. They had quickly become the very thing they had originally formed to destroy.

"What the hell did Yaldabaoth do to us?" he muttered softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like the neutral ending to Persona 5. It has a real "Death Note" aesthetic to it (which, by the way, only has twenty-five episodes, plus a nice epilogue of Kira's word being shown to become law, and nothing anyone says will change my mind on that). I fully plan to come back to this idea, maybe even sooner rather than later.
> 
> Also, tomorrow's chapter is 100% anti-Mishima. If you are a Mishima fanboy/girl, give tomorrow's a pass.


	43. Rumors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like Mishima, give this one a pass. Seriously. Don't read this if you're a Mishima fan-boy. I point everyone to the tag on this story saying I hate Mishima if you don't believe me.
> 
> TW: Talk of Suicide

After all this time, there was little that bothered Akira anymore. He knew how everything would go, knew how every betrayal would play out, and had perfected his acting ability so no one could become suspicious of him after going numb and giving deadpan responses during one of the previous loops. There were, however, two things that still bothered him, no matter how much he went through them, not including the obvious going through a time-loop.

"It's the transfer student!"

"Don't look at him!"

"I heard he beat the shit out of some old guy and raped his daughter in front of him."

"I heard he almost killed some woman."

"Didn't the post say he was arrested for molesting a kid?"

"I heard he was part of a yakuza group that was sent here to setup a foothold."

"We should submit his name to the Phan-site! I know for sure the Phantom Thieves would change the heart of a criminal like him!"

The constant rumors just happened to be one of those two things that still bothered him.

Over the past few years, he had done his best to stamp the rumors down. He knew that the people who spread them just didn't know the truth. They were never supposed to know, and even if they knew the truth they probably still wouldn't believe him. The fact that they still spread rumors about him after his release from jail and the clearing of his name during February was only proof of that.

He noticed Mishima in front of him and sent an evil glare at the back of his head. He knew the boy was coerced into releasing his information. He knew that he only did it because Kamoshida forced him to do it. However, it still didn't stop the hate he felt for the boy. So far as he was concerned, Mishima was just as at fault for the spreading of every rumor about him as was Kamoshida. The fact he was also the one who sent Shiho to be raped took any idea of forgiveness away from him.

Honestly, he really hoped that the way out of this nightmare didn't include spending time with Mishima. He'd rather spend the next eternity repeating the same year before he bothered to try and pretend to be the boy's friend.

"Look at him! That glare is pure evil!"

"I bet he's planning on killing Mishima!"

"Poor Mishima. Hasn't he gone through enough? He never did anything wrong!"

"I'm adding his name to the Phan-site now! I'll put down that he's planning to kill someone to make them hurry!"

Akira let out a sigh and turned sharply at the stairs, heading up.

"Look, he's running away!"

"Maybe he's going to roof."

"Do us a favor and jump, criminal."

He grit his teeth as that last comment said to him brought a moment of silence. Ever since Shiho tried to kill herself, telling someone to jump had become taboo. Any time someone said it to someone else, everyone around them would gang up on the person who said it. It was no longer fatalistic humor. He waited a moment, only to hear normal conversation start up again. He bit down the urge to scream and instead made his way onto the roof, picking the lock on the door in the process.

He took a few deep breaths as Morgana made his way out of his bag. He leapt up on some of the ventilation work and looked down at him.

"You going to be okay, Joker?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." he said, letting out a sigh. "I just wish these damn rumors would die down."

"I wish I could help you." he said, getting Akira to nod his head. The door opening behind him drew their attention, and he barely managed to bite back a sigh of disgust.

"Hey." Mishima said, looking at him.

"Hey, Nishina." he replied back. Even purposely saying his name wrong wasn't making him feel better.

"It's Mishima." he replied, looking tired.

"Don't care." Akira muttered, bringing the boy up short. He stood there for a moment before letting out a small cough.

"Anyways, you don't have to worry about them putting your name on the Phan-site." he said, giving him a nervous smile. "I already took down the post."

"Whatever."

"So...yeah." Mishima said, looking awkward. "I know it has to be hard, but don't listen to them. I know you're not evil like that. That's why we're friends, right?"

"Friends?" Akira asked, turning to face him. Part of him tried to stop himself, knowing this would get him nowhere. But a larger part of him stuck on that one word coming out of Mishima's mouth. "Did you just say we're _friends_?"

"Well...I mean..." he trailed off, looking at him. "We are friends, right?"

"No, Mishima." he said, standing up straight. "We're not friends. All those rumors they spread about me every time I set foot onto this campus? They are because of you. They are because you're a fucking little coward who bent over for Kamoshida and leaked my record. No one except the staff and the student council president were supposed to know about it. Instead, I show up on my first day to find that everyone in this whole damn school already knows about it. And the worst part, none of them even know what my actual record is for. So tell me, why in the hell would I want to be friends with you?"

"Kamoshida made me do it!" he yelled, his eyes constantly looking away from him. "I didn't want to, but he made me do it! He would have beat me again if I didn't!"

"As opposed to beating you for something else?" Akira asked, his voice still strangely calm. "I saw you when I showed up. You were covered in fresh bruises. My guess is you leaked my record and caught shit for something else, right?"

"But I was a victim of Kamoshida too!"

"Suzui Shiho is a victim." Akira said, his eyes hardening into a glare. "Sakamoto Ryuji is a victim. Takamaki Ann is a victim. All the girls he molested, they are victims. Everyone he physically beat, they are victims. You, Mishima, are an accomplice. How many girls did you send to him, knowing full well what he was going to do? How many guys did you send, knowing he would beat the shit out of them and allowing yourself to escape? You're obviously good with information gathering. Did you tell Kamoshida about Ryuji as well?"

"I..." he trailed off, not looking at him.

"You're not a victim, Mishima." he said, walking up to him. "Maybe in the beginning, you were. But you stopped being one the moment you sold your soul to Kamoshida. His victims...they're the ones who refused to sell out. Don't you ever call yourself a victim in front of me again. Don't talk to me like you're my friend. You're not. After all..." he trailed off, pulling out his phone. He opened the Meta-nav and looked Mishima in the eye.

"What's that?" the boy asked, his voice shaking.

"Joker, what are you doing!?" he heard Morgana yell.

"Mishima Yuuki. Mementos." Akira said.

"Candidate found." the Meta-nav's navigation responded.

"I can change your heart any time I want." Akira said, his voice low. "You can be going about your day thinking you're some hero of justice, only to start crying on the street because you were acting as a pimp for a serial rapist of school girls. Don't ever talk to me like you're my friend again. Don't ever talk like you're some victim in front of me again."

"But I am one!"

"Then jump." Akira said, causing Mishima to suck in a breath. They stood there, Akira glaring into Mishima's constantly moving eyes for a moment before Mishima completely turned his head away.

"But...I really am a victim of him."

"You're nothing but a piece of shit accomplice." Akira said. He brushed past him, shoulder-checking him hard on the way. "Don't speak to me again, you rat." he said one last time before making his way toward the door.

"Hey, Joker! Wait up!" Morgana yelled. He felt him leap up and hang on as he walked through the door and slammed it behind him. "Hey! Joker! What the hell is wrong with you!? What are you going to do if he actually tries to kill himself and jumps!?"

"He won't." he said, his voice confidant.

"You can't possibly know that!" Mona yelled back, swiping his head with his paw. "After the abuse Kamoshida put him through, there's no telling just how bad off mentally he could be! Remember! Just because they have a hit on the Nav doesn't mean they're evil!"

"Trust me." Akira said, his voice still calm and confidant. "He's there because he's on a power trip. I know that for a fact."

"There is no possible way for you to know that!" Mona yelled even louder. "If you went and checked prior to now you would have had to have already entered his information. You didn't enter it until just now. You couldn't possibly know he was there or why he's there!"

"Trust me." Akira said again. "I know for a fact why he is there."

"So what did he do wrong?" he asked him. "Why did you talk to him like that?"

"Because he is the reason behind so much that has happened since I first set foot in this place!" he yelled. He closed his eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Leaking my record, Shiho, being a literal accomplice for Kamosida, the constant and endless rumors about me. I'm just so damn tired of it all, and he pushed all the wrong buttons with that half-assed pep-talk he tried to give me."

"He was a victim too, Akira." he said, using his actual name. Akira figured it was to try and get his point across, since Morgana hardly ever used it. "Kamoshida did a lot of terrible things to him as well. Yes, he was coerced into doing things for him and yes, he could have made better decisions. But none of that changes that fact that he was still a victim. Deep down, you know this."

"Not anymore." he said simply, continuing down that stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I get it. Mishima's a victim. Everyone around Akira can see that. However, from Akira's perspective, he's gone through ten straight years of hearing nothing but rumors about him being told behind his back because of Mishima. He's watched other victims of Kamoshida refuse to the do man's dirty work, yet here is Mishima so far as he is concerned happy to oblige. So far as he is concerned, Mishima is an accomplice of Kamoshida's, mainly since he is.


	44. Their Selfless Leader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first, yesterday's chapter. I've read the discussion/debate/argument in the comments, and both readers bring up valid points. Since we're pretty much at the end of daily postings for this (with tomorrow being the last pre-planned chapter/de-facto ending), I will make a lengthy post on Saturday as a separate chapter responding to the points that were brought up. No idea if AO3 allows that, but I'll take my chances.
> 
> Now, with today's chapter. I'm taking a METRIC CRAP-TON of medical liberties with this chapter. While, yes, an ultrasound can be used to determine if bones are broken, I personally do not know how well it would work and if it would work to this extent.
> 
> Anyways, this takes place after Chapter 22 - Aftermath.

Akira watched as Tae slowly packed up the equipment she had brought into Sojiro's house. He knew that she was doing it methodically to keep herself from falling apart. Even his first time through this nightmare all those loops ago, he was able to tell the news wasn't good.

"So how bad is it?" he asked, trying to push the event along. He knew how bad it was. He also knew the quicker she told him, the quicker things could move forward.

"From what I could tell with the equipment at my disposal, bad." she said, turning to look at him. "You have three cracked ribs. That's the least of your injuries. The only reason for that is because they didn't splinter and cause internal bleeding. The real issue is your shoulder and your leg."

"I figured as much." he said, his voice calm. He had a lot of loops to come to terms with the news he was about to hear.

"It looks like you have a torn rotator cuff." she said, nodding down to his left shoulder. "With medication and proper care, it should be able to heal with little issue. You will probably always have weakness in that arm, but..."

"But?" he asked, knowing what was coming.

"Akira...we can't take you to a hospital." she said, her face showing pain from having to say the words. She turned away from him and began messing with what she brought again. "We can't get a detailed look, since the ultrasound machine can only show so much. There could be other issues, and if we could somehow find a hospital to get you into there may be a better chance of helping you, but since we can't, at least, we-"

"Tae." he said softly, cutting her rambling off. "How bad is it?"

"Your femur is shattered." she said, turning to face him again. "You need surgery to repair it, plus have hardware installed, along with several months of therapy."

"I don't have that option." he said, looking down at his leg for a moment before looking back up at her. "We need to go after the guy who is behind all of this. There's also the fact that having a criminal who just committed suicide walk into a hospital would be a bad idea. I'll have to take my chances with it healing naturally."

"It won't heal, Akira." she said, looking at him. "It's shattered. Any natural healing would be a detriment. If it becomes infectious, it could even kill you."

"Then give me antibiotics." he said, causing her face to scrunch up."This can kill you, Akira!" she yelled as tears start to roll down her face. "I've seen people who have died because of injuries like this! I've seen people with _less_ injuries than you who have died!"

"I have faith that the medications you give me will save my life." he said, looking back down at his leg. "Besides, I don't plan on dying just yet."

"Akira...I can get you into a hospital." she said, looking at him. "I can pull strings to keep anyone from commenting on it, from looking to closely at the admission forms, even who will look the other way if we lie about who you are. We can say you're name is Amamiya Ren or something like that, and no one will know the difference."

"Tae..."

"It's a simple procedure." she continued, rambling again. "They'll put a graft on the bone to make sure it heals properly, as well as clean out any bone splinters that I may not be able to see with the ultrasound machines. They can repair your rotator cuff with no issue while we're there, make sure you don't have internal bleeding from your cracked ribs, make sure that-"

"Tae." he said again, reaching out to touch her arm.

"You don't get it." she said, shaking her head. "Even if you don't die from an infection, the bone will not heal properly. You may be having to use a cane by the time you hit your late twenties or early thirties. You may be wheelchair-bound by the age of forty. I can basically guarantee that will happen if you continue acting like a Phantom Thief."

"The place where we operate from, our injuries here don't carry over." he said, moving his hand away from her. "One of our members used to be a track star. When we're acting as Phantom Thieves, he's able to run perfectly again, despite a fucked up leg. I may even be able to heal myself while I'm there."

That was a lie. He had tried it during the first loop, only to find that it healed a minimal amount of the injury when all was said and done. It allowed him to walk without much pain, but Tae confirmed later on that nothing had really changed. She had told him that whatever magic they used in whatever world they operated in managed to stave off any infection from setting in and for the most part stabilize his leg, but that was it. The constant exposure to the healing magic had also eventually fused his leg wrong, making it even harder to try and fix with surgery at a later date.

All because, no matter how many times he went through it, he still couldn't stop himself from shoving the false confession away.

"Give me some pain killers." he said, looking back up at her. "Give me enough so I can walk for a few hours without showing any signs of pain."

"Akira-"

"Tae." he cut her off, causing her to close her mouth. "Please."

"Why?" she asked, glaring down at him. "Why should I do that?"

"Because I'm their leader." he said simply, meeting her glare. "They expect me to be strong and selfless. I _need_ to walk into that cafe like nothing happened. I can't let them know how close to dying I really came. Makoto has a fairly good idea, as does Futaba. They are the two who really should never have known, but here we are. If I walk in like nothing happened, that would go a long way toward convincing them last night was because it was fresh."

"Damn it, Akira." she said, turning away from him. After a moment, she let out a sigh and pulled a bottle of pills out of her bag. She turned and tossed it on the bed next to him. "The max safe dosage is six pills. It should take maybe ten minutes at that dosage to kick in."

"Thank you, Tae."

"Don't come bitching to me if you end up addicted to that shit, got it Guinea Pig?" she said, turning away from him. "I won't help you if they mess you up that badly."

"I know." he said. "Still, thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just take a moment to talk about the fact that Akira is LITERALY FUCKING TORTURED by the police, has the absolute shit beaten out of him, and just struts into Leblanc like it was nothing? Does it make him look like the ultimate badass, state of the badass art? Fuck yeah. Is it believable? Not even a little. So, sorry, but for this series (and any other I write in the future), he will carry those scars for the rest of his life, both physical and emotional.


	45. This Future...You Fought For It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final planned chapter for this collection of one-shots and drabbles about Akira going through seemingly endless time-loops brought on by New Game+. While the odds of new chapters being written remains high (coughnextweeksneeze), I offer no guarantee of when any will be posted. Please enjoy this final chapter.

Akira slowly opened his eyes, looking at the familiar wood ceiling of his attic bedroom in Leblanc. He looked down, seeing Morgana slowly starting to wake up before hopping off of him to stretch. He could tell from the lack of sounds downstairs that Sojiro hadn't come in yet, so he knew it had to be fairly early. Sitting up, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning, Joker." Morgana said, getting him to look down at the (not a) cat. "I'm honestly surprised how early you're awake, considering how late you were up with Ms. Nijima last night."

"Yeah." he said, running his hand through his hair for a moment before it all hit him.

Yesterday was March 20th.

He slowly pulled his phone from his pocket, his hand shaking.

Everything had frozen a second before midnight.

He looked down at his phone, his finger on the power button, afraid to press it.

Yesterday was March 20th.

He hit the button and watched as the date and time came up.

...

...

...

March 21st, 2017.

He turned off the screen and shut his eyes tightly, shaking his head. He opened them again and turned the screen back on.

March 21st, 2017.

He didn't pay attention as his vision started getting blurry. He heard Morgana ask him what was wrong as the tears started to fall from his face. He noticed Morgana jump up next to him to look down at the phone, only to ask in even more confusion what was wrong and why he was crying.

He was finally free.

-

As the final customer of what counted as Leblanc's lunch-rush walked out of the cafe, Akira allowed his mind to wander a bit at what his future would hold.

He would be staying in Tokyo, working in Leblanc through school while going to university for business. Upon graduation, Sojiro had promised him he would sign over Leblanc to him. The man's only requirement for signing it over was that Akira promised he would never skimp on the ingredients or the quality of the products and service. It was something he was able to promise the man with no thought on breaking it whatsoever.

Even though the Phantom Thieves were officially disbanded and going their own ways, he knew that the bonds they had formed would never break. Even if they wouldn't be able to hang out every day, even if he wouldn't see them in school, they would all sill be in the Tokyo prefecture. Even Ann, who would be spending part of her final year of high school abroad, still planned on returning to Tokyo when it was done. They all knew he would be taking over Leblanc, and he made sure they knew the door would always be open for them.

The door opening pulled him out of his thoughts as he turned to welcome the new customers, only to be struck dumb. He knew that, were this any other coffee shop in Japan, were he any other barista in Japan, they would be shocked at the woman who just walked in. However, he wasn't any other barista in Japan. His eyes were drawn to the silver-haired man walking in behind her.

"This place really is out of the way." the woman, Kujikawa Rise, said while looking around. "And you are right, the atmosphere here is nice."

"I don't know why you doubted me." the man replied, looking over at Akira with a small smile. "I don't suppose we can get two cups of Blue Mountain, please?"

"Yeah." he said, slowly turning to the back wall. He grabbed the jar as the two sat at the bar, speaking softly with each other as Akira started to make their coffee.

"So...my husband here tells me you're a Persona user." Rise said, causing him to look at the two of them. After a moment, he nods his head and goes back to the coffee.

"That's right." he said, starting to grind the beans. "I'm the leader of the now disbanded Phantom Thieves. Thank you for your support, by the way." he continued, turning to look at her. "We noticed that your fans and rankings plummeted because of your support."

"A small price to pay." she replied, waving her hand. "I honestly thought about just ending my career when it happened by announcing my marriage. Yu talked me out of it, though."

"I still hold out that time to announce it hasn't come yet." Yu said with a shrug.

"Well, I guess you're right." she replied as Akira placed the cups of coffee in front of them. She smiled at him in thanks and took a sip as the door opened. "You were right! This is better than instant!"

"I'm glad to hear that." Sojiro said, walking in and closing the door behind him. Rise and Yu turned to look at him and he nodded his head slightly. "I take it my protégé has been treating you well?"

"That he has." Rise said, giving him a smile. "I'm going to have to tell my fans about this great cafe. You'll have lines around the block."

"In that case, wait a few years so it will be his problem to deal with." he said, nodding toward Akira with a smirk.

"Sure thing, Dad." Akira said, a smirk worthy of Joker spreading on his face. "More money for me."

"Anyways," Yu said, cutting in, "I was wondering if I could borrow your protégé for a moment."

"I suppose." Sojiro replied, looking a little confused.

"It's just tying up some loose ends with a piece of Phantom Thieves business." Akira said, getting Sojiro to raise an eyebrow.

"If you say so." he answered with a shrug, walking behind the bar as Akira walked out from it. He nodded his head toward the stairs as Yu stood up and went up to his room.

"Pretty spacious." Yu said upon reaching the top of the stairs. Akira pointed toward the sofa and pulled out the desk chair for himself.

"That is pretty much what everyone who has seen it says." Akira said, getting a small chuckle from Yu. They sat down and Akira waited for Yu to start.

"You made it out far quicker than I did." he said after a moment, getting Akira to raise an eyebrow at him. "You went through the same year seventeen times. I got close to thirty-five before I made my way out."

"Wait." Akira said, sitting up straight. "So, mentally, you're in your fifties?"

"You could say that." Yu said, giving him a sad smile. "There was a good ten year period where I honestly just gave up. I spent it on autopilot, not really doing anything to try and find my way out of it."

"Why couldn't you help me?" he asked, getting Yu to let out a sigh. "You must have known something that could have helped me."

"Firstly, I couldn't." he said, lowering his head for a moment. "I was lucky enough to be able to realize what was going on and find a way to keep track of what was happening. For you, seventeen years have passed since whatever your reset point was started. For me, I only have memories of this final year. I could only tell you I knew what was going on and that there was a way out of it.

"Secondly, and most importantly, I had no idea what your endgame conditions would be." he continued, getting Akira to raise an eyebrow at him. "This past time through, what was different?"

"I was alone on Valentine's Day." Akira said, leaning back in his chair. "Sae, a woman I had a crush on for most of this nightmare, showed up with tickets for an opera the following day and asked me on a date to go with her. I called Sojiro for help in finding something to wear and called him 'Dad' over the phone. Everything kind of spiraled out from that."

"And therein lies the problem." Yu said, leaning back into the sofa as well. "There was no way I could possibly say 'Do these very specific things that I have no knowledge of in order to get out.'"

"Why couldn't you tell me how you got out?"

"Because my way involved striking a deal between my wife downstairs enjoying a cup of coffee and a literal goddess who's the weatherwoman in Inaba on their wants to both own my heart." Yu said, getting Akira to raise both eyebrows at him. "Honestly, I did it just to see what would happen. I never expected that to be the thing I needed to do in order to break out of the time-loops."

"Hold up." Akira said, leaning forward. "Let me get this straight. You're married to Kujikawa Rise, the idol currently sitting downstairs, correct?"

"Yes."

"What kind of deal did you make with a literal goddess, if both said goddess and said wife wanted to own your heart."

"It's...complicated." Yu said, waving him off.

"Then uncomplicate it." Akira said, looking at him. "You don't get to say that and then not follow it up."

"Basically, when Marie, the goddess, feels the inclination, she can come to me."

"So...you're married to an internationally famous idol and have a literal goddess as a side mistress."

"It's more complicated than that, but I guess you can say it like that."

"If my sister were here, she'd call you a man-whore. Same with the rest of the female members of the Phantom Thieves. And the male members. And my female confidants. And most of my male confidants. Actually, they probably all would." Akira said simply, getting Yu to sigh.

"It...wouldn't be the first time." he said, looking away for a moment. "Probably not the last time, either."

"Still, I guess you were right." he said, leaning back in his chair. "There is no way in hell that would be useful in getting me out of that mess. I'm pretty sure if I mentioned to Sae the idea of an open relationship like that, everything would have reset after she killed me."

He still had nightmares about his one time trying to have a harem.

"Maybe you can answer this then." Akira said, looking at him. "Last night...time froze a second before midnight. Did that happen for you as well?"

"Yes." Yu said, nodding his head. "I don't know why, and Marie hasn't been able to offer me an answer I've been able to fully understand either. She said something about time having to catch up to us or something...I don't know. My eyes kind of glazed over midway through her answer and I never bothered to ask again."

"So...you're saying Marie knows what has happened? She knows you were stuck in a time-loop?" he asked, causing Yu to nod his head.

"She is a literal goddess, after all." he replied. "She knows about you, as well. She's the one who reminded me each time about my visit here. In fact, she was the whole reason that I-"

"Sojiro! Akira! I hunger!" a voice yelled out from below, causing Akira to let out a sigh.

"Futaba! How many times have I told you to stop doing that!?" Sojiro's voice rang out right after, causing Akira to stand up.

"Sounds like you have company." Yu said, causing Akira to smile.

"My adopted little sister." he replied, nodding his head toward the stairs. "She was also our navigator."

"Then her and Rise should get along well." he replied, following him down the stairs and into the cafe proper.

"Akira! Look!" Futaba said, pointing at Rise. "A wild Risette appeared in our cafe."

"I saw that." he said, walking back behind the counter as Sojiro let out a sigh and shook his head. "She's also a Persona user."

"What?" Futaba asked, her voice going flat.

"Yep!" Rise said, giving her a smile. "I was a navigator for our group."

"Really? I was the navigator for the Phantom Thieves." she said, sitting at a booth.

"I take it you were the one with the goggles, right?" she asked, getting a nod from Futaba.

"I just can't believe that Kujikawa Rise of all people is a Persona user." she said, pushing her glasses up slightly. "I mean, we have a fashion model. Your team had a famous idol. I wonder if there were any other famous Persona users?"

"Well, there's Takeba Yukari-"

"What!?" Futaba yelled, catching the group by surprise.

"What?" Rise asked, confused.

"Did...did you just say that...did...say...uh..."

"I think you broke her, Rise." Yu said, causing her to turn and glare at him.

"Futaba? What's wrong?" Sojiro asked, coming around the counter.

"Pink Argus is a Persona user." she muttered, looking up at Rise. "You're telling me that Pink Argus is a Persona user!?"

"Ye...yes." she replied, causing Futaba to lower her head for a moment.

"...graph." she mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Can...can you get her to give me an autograph, signed to Oracle?"

"I...suppose I can try." she said, getting Futaba to jump up.

"Thank you! I need to go and clear a place for it. Later Sojiro! Later Akira!" she yelled, running out of Leblanc. She almost ran into a woman walking in. "Sorry!" she said, continuing to run down the street.

"She seems excited." the woman said, turning to face Rise. "It also seems like it wasn't from meeting you, either."

"So...Akira." Yu said, drawing his attention. "This is Marie."

"Frizzy hair. Dark clothing. You must be Joker." she said, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"And I take it you must be Marie, the goddess he mentioned to me." Akira replied, getting her to nod her head.

"I tried to come here prior to now, but it was kept out of my hands." she said, pouting slightly. "So long as I keep this form, my powers are fairly limited. I'm the one who convinced Yu to visit you, however. I could sense you were starting to give up hope."

"Thank you for that." he said, bowing slightly. "Honestly, there were times I wanted to hate him for not telling me more, but I came to understand why. Especially now that he told me just what conditions he had to meet in order for it to end."

"You know, one of these days, I'm going to make you two tell me about this big secret you have." Rise said, looking between Yu and Marie a few times before turning to Marie. "Let me guess, you're here because you want him for the night?"

"Actually, I came here so I could finally meet Joker." she replied, before smiling. "However, I don't mind taking him for the night."

"I'm sorry...what are we talking about again?" Sojiro asked, causing the four to turn toward him.

"So...this will be funny, Sojiro." Akira said, smirking. "This guy here is married to Risette while also having a literal goddess as a mistress."

"It's...more complicated than that." Yu said quickly as the man's eyes widened.

"...hoo boy..." he muttered, shaking his head. "I've heard of some interesting relationships over the years, but this one..." he trailed off. Akira's phone picked that moment to ding, and he pulled it out to look at it.

**ORACLE:** Tell him he's a man-whore.

**SKULL:** ???

**NOIR:** Who...exactly, was this message intended for?

**PANTHER:** Ryuji, what did you do to Togo-san?

**SKULL:** She's not talking about me!

**SKULL:** Right?

**JOKER:** No, she's not.

**QUEEN:** I feel like I will regret this, but who are we talking about then?

**ORACLE:** A former Persona user.

**ORACLE:** He's married to Risette and has a goddess as a side-mistress.

**SKULL:** Wait, Risette is married!?! Fo'real!?!

**PANTHER:** Seconded!

**JOKER:** Yes, she is.

**JOKER:** That also doesn't leave this chat. Got it you two?

**SKULL:** Got it.

**PANTHER:** Got it.

**ORACLE:** She's also a Persona user.

**PANTHER:** For real!?!

**SKULL:** ...

**ORACLE:** ...

**JOKER:** ...

**NOIR:**...

**QUEEN:** ...

**FOX:** ...I believe this is the moment you type "F" is it not?

**SKULL:** Holy crap, Yusuke...did you just...?

**ORACLE:** Inari understood a meme!

**SKULL:** And yeah, you're right. F

**ORACLE:** F

**JOKER:** F

**FOX:** F

**NOIR:** F

**QUEEN:** F

**ORACLE:** Mona: "I refuse to say 'F' to my Lady Ann."

**PANTHER:** ...F

**VIOLET:** F

**ORACLE:** Sumi! You're back!

**VIOLET:** I am! I got back yesterday, but was busy so I couldn't reply back to anything.

**QUEEN:** How did the competitions go?

**VIOLET:** They went well!

**VIOLET:** I brought honor to both the school and my sister's memory!

**VIOLET:** So...Sakamoto-senpai. Who's Togo-san?

**SKULL:** That's right...you weren't here last week.

**PANTHER:** Ryuji has a girlfriend~!

**VIOLET:** WHAT!?!

**VIOLET:** Uh...I mean...congratulations, Senpai! I am totally not at all shocked!

**SKULL:** Seriously? You're going to pull that crap too?

**ORACLE:** Anyways! Back to the important matters at hand!

**ORACLE:** Man-whore or not? Vote.

**NOIR:** Man-whore.

**PANTHER:** Man-whore.

**QUEEN:** Man-whore.

**VIOLET:** Man-whore.

**FOX:** Would they be interested in letting me paint them in their passion?

**JOKER:** Probably not.

**ORACLE:** Seriously, Inari?

**FOX:** In that case, man-whore.

**VIOLET:** So the others weren't lying when they warned me about you.

**QUEEN:** Are you seriously saying you would have said "No" if they agreed to that?

**FOX:** I'm just saying it would make me reconsider my opinion.

**NOIR:** ...Yusuke-kun...

**SKULL:** So, I'm with Hifumi right now and asked her opinion as well without saying names.

**SKULL:** We both agree. Man-whore.

**SKULL:** Also, Yusuke...wtf man?

**ORACLE:** Mona and I both say man-whore.

**PANTHER:** Since Ryuji asked Hifumi, I asked Shiho. She agrees. Man-whore.

**JOKER:** I already told him he's a man-whore, so...there's my vote.

**ORACLE:** Then tell him, Key Item!

"So, that was the rest of the Phantom Thieves, plus two girlfriends of the Phantom Thieves." Akira said, looking up at them. "The vote is unanimous. You're a man-whore."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but..." Sojiro trailed off, causing them to turn and face him. "You kind of are one." he said, causing Akira's phone to ding a moment later. He looked back down at it.

**ORACLE:** Sojiro agrees!!!

Akira smirked before putting his phone on vibrate and placing it back in his pocket.

"Well, even a seven year old was able to see it, Senpai." Rise said, smirking at him.

"Technically, Margret told her that." he muttered.

"Still doesn't change the fact that everyone agrees you're a man-whore." Akira said, smirking at him.

"It doesn't matter to me if you are one." Marie said, taking Yu's arm. "She offered you to me for the night, so I'm taking you. She can join us if she wants." she continued, pulling him toward the door.

"I'll bring the rest of my group by one day." Yu said, turning to look over his shoulder as the goddess pulled him out of the building.

"Did that just really happen?" Sojiro asked, looking at Rise and Akira.

"You get used to it." she replied, putting some money on the counter.

"You also seem pretty calm about it."

"Again, you get used to it." she said, smiling brightly. "Thank you for the coffee. Once Joker takes over, I'll let all my fans know how I much I loved this place. He'll have lines running down the block."

"Sweet. More money for me." he said, smiling.

"Also means a lot more work for you." Sojiro said, smirking at him.

"You can also let your sister know that I'll get in touch with Takeba. I'm sure their group would be interested in meeting your team as well." she said before walking out of the business and down the same way the goddess and her husband went.

"Seriously, Kid, just where in the hell do you find these people?" he asked, turning to face him.

"I wonder that myself, sometimes." Akira replied, shrugging slightly.

-

Once again, he was left alone inside Leblanc after the last customer had left for the evening. Sojiro had long since made some excuse to leave earlier during the evening, trusting the cafe to him in his place. Being the good surrogate son he was, he asked the older man if he was busy trying to find Futaba and him a new mom. Sojiro, being Sojiro, had reminded him that he didn't pry into what he did with Sae after closing up, and he promptly shut his mouth.

The door opening got his attention, and he turned to see Sae once again walking into the cafe. He gave her a large smile, which she returned with a more reserved one. She flipped the sign to "CLOSED" on the door and locked it behind her.

"I hope you don't mind if I did that?" she asked, a teasing note in her voice.

"Of course not." he replied, turning to grab the jar of Kona coffee beans. "Sojiro left a few hours ago, so if he wants to complain that the door is locked, it's his problem."

"I see he's trusting you more with the cafe." she said, sitting down at a booth. "Makoto tells me you had an interesting guest today."

"Yeah, there was." he said, grinding the beans to make two cups of coffee. "Some strange guy who claimed he was married to an idol while also having a goddess as a mistress came in to see me. I called him a man-whore. So did the rest of the Phantom Thieves. And Ryuji's girlfriend. And Ann's girlfriend. And Sojiro."

"So I've heard..." she muttered, causing him to laugh slightly. "Is Risette really like all of you?"

"A Persona user?" he asked, looking up at her to see her nod her head. "Supposedly. She knew about things that only someone who was one would know."

"So you really weren't the only ones with that power." she muttered.

"No, we're apparently not." he said, finishing the preparation of the two cups of coffee. He took them over to the booth and placed them on the table before sitting down next to her. She leaned against him, and he put his arm around her shoulder. She reached for her cup and took a sip. She closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.

"You know, I'm pretty sure you're coming close to surpassing Sojiro in the coffee-making department." she said, setting the cup down.

"Well, the secret ingredient is 'love' after all." he said, causing her to chuckle slightly.

"Are you sure you're not trying to turn this place into a host club?" she asked him, causing him to smile.

"I'm sure." he said, pulling her tighter against him. "After all, you're the only one who will get that secret ingredient. No one else."

"I still don't see how you can say that with a straight face." she muttered, getting him to chuckle for a moment.

"I'm sorry that I seemed...out of it...last night." he said, causing her to look at him. "This time last year, I was sitting in a jail cell while they worked out the details of my probation. I was alone and scared."

"And now?" she asked, causing him to look back at her.

"I have zero regrets." he said, smiling at her. "That place, it was never my home. I never intended to stay long after graduation. Coming here, meeting everyone I did, this is my future. Back then, I never would have been able to imagine this. The idea that I would be working at a coffee shop that I would one day be given. That I would make friends who will be with me for life. Just being able to have helped people as part of the Phantom Thieves. Being with you. I never would have thought that would be my future, and now I can't even imagine it any other way."

"That's because you worked hard for this future." she said, giving him a soft smile as well. "You could very well have kept your head down and accepted the status quo for the rest of your life. Instead, you fought against the status quo and saved countless people in the process, including me. This future...you fought for it. You earned this future, Akira. Don't let anyone ever tell your otherwise, including yourself."

"The future I fought for..." he trailed off, closing his eyes. He could still picture the past seventeen years, could still picture everything he went through. He thought of the times he wanted to just give up, to not even bother trying to find a way out. He thought of the changes that led him to this moment, and realized that he really did fight for this.

He had no regrets.

"I'm glad you're here with me, Sae." he said, opening his eyes to look at her. She blushed for a moment before leaning over to kiss him.

"There's nowhere I'd rather be." she said while leaning her head against his shoulder, causing him to smile again. He looked around Leblanc once more before lowering his head to rest it on hers. "Last night, when I was leaving. What were you really going to say?" she asked. "I could tell you wanted to say something else than what you ended up saying."

"I was going to tell you that I love you." he said simply. "I was going to say that I've never felt this way about anyone before." he continued. He was still scared to say it, scared that she would think he was rushing things. As she started to move away from him, he felt his heart drop. She took his head in her hands and turned it toward her before kissing him hard. After a moment, she broke the kiss and looked at him, smiling.

"I feel the same way." she said, causing his heart to skip a beat. "I love you as well. I was afraid to say anything, though, because it seemed to be moving too fast. Logically, our being together shouldn't make sense. But it doesn't change the fact that I have grown to love you."

Akira smiled at her before pulling her back to him. He rested his head on hers and closed his eyes, content to simply stay this way as long as they could.

"Do you ever intend to go back to Shibata?" she asked softly, drawing his attention back to her.

"No." he said, turning his head to kiss the top of hers. "I have nothing there. Everything for me is here. Everything I need is right here."

"Everything you need?" she asked, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He smiled at her and kissed her.

"Everything I need." he replied. "This is my real home now."

"Then let me be the first one to say this." she said, pulling away from him. She looked at him for a moment before smiling softly. "Welcome home, Akira."

He returned the smile, feeling a single tear start to form as the memories of everything that happened flashed through his mind again.

This was the future he fought for, one where he would have no regrets.

"I'm home, Sae."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this, give kudos, bookmark, and comment on this collection of one-shots, as well give thanks to my sister who beta-read most of these chapters to catch my bouts of dyslexia and forgetting words. I originally had plans to post a response to comments from Chapter 43- Rumors tomorrow, as stated in the previous chapter. Since posting that, more was stated which has lead to having even more to unpack. As such, a timeline will be posted tomorrow of where each of these one-shots takes place chronologically with each other and the response will now be posted on Sunday. Both will be posted at the usual time of 7pm PST.
> 
> More stories based in the Persona universe will follow. Some will be comedic one-shots, some will be dark one-shots, some will be posted here as part of this overarching story, and some will be stories full of Vengeance.
> 
> Just remember. The actions of the Phantom Thieves show no signs of stopping.


	46. TIMELINE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a timeline of when each chapter takes place, since they were neither written nor posted in chronological order. As extra chapters get posted when I have them and feel like it, this timeline will also be updated.

001 - Chapter 04 - New Game+ [1st Loop]  
002 - Chapter 12 - You Can't Go Home [1st Loop]  
003 - Chapter 08 - Time Paradox [1st Loop]  
004 - Chapter 03 - Mishima [1st Loop]  
005 - Chapter 35 - Not Going Down Alone [1st Loop]  
006 - Chapter 25 - Cheesing Okumura [1st Loop]  
007 - Chapter 07 - For a Moment There I Thought We Were in Trouble [1st Loop]  
008 - Chapter 02 - Backup Members [2nd Loop]  
009 - Chapter 26 - The Long Drive Home [2nd Loop]  
010 - Chapter 06 - The Usual Customer [3rd Loop]  
011 - Chapter 17 - Last Surprise [3rd Loop]  
012 - Chapter 33 - The Royal Thieves [4th Loop]  
013 - Chapter 01 - Paying Kaneshiro [5th Loop]  
014 - Chapter 29 - Stike the Pose [5th Loop]  
015 - Chapter 37 - Deadpan [6th Loop]  
016 - Chapter 13 - Don't Fear the Reaper [7th Loop]  
017 - Chapter 32 - The Big Bang Burger Challenge [7th Loop]  
018 - Chapter 14 - Pancakes [7th Loop]  
019 - Chapter 24 - The Detective Prince [8th Loop]  
020 - Chapter 39 - When Choreography Fails [8th Loop]  
021 - Chapter 43 - Rumors [9th Loop]  
022 - Chapter 16 - Solitary [9th Loop]  
023 - Chapter 10 - Hope [9th Loop]  
024 - Chapter 11 - Throw Away Your Mask, Akira [9th Loop]  
025 - Chapter 34 - Sellout [10th Loop]  
026 - Chapter 41 - Second-in-Command [11th Loop]  
027 - Chapter 05 - Useless [11th Loop]  
028 - Chapter 38 - Igor [12th Loop]  
029 - Chapter 42 - We Show No Sign of Stopping [12th Loop]  
030 - Chapter 23 - Bloody Valentine [13th Loop]  
031 - Chapter 19 - Taking the Offer [14th Loop]  
032 - Chapter 21 - Undecided [15th Loop]  
033 - Chapter 15 - Dethroning a Queen [16th Loop]  
034 - Chapter 28 - Jealous? [16th Loop]  
035 - Chapter 22 - Afermath [16th Loop]  
036 - Chapter 44 - Their Selfless Leader [16th Loop]  
037 - Chapter 09 - Dinner and a Show [16th Loop]  
038 - EXTRA CHAPTER 01 - With Friends Like These... [16th Loop]  
039 - Chapter 31 - An Entertaining Sight [16th Loop]  
040 - Chapter 18 - Something Different [16th Loop]  
041 - Chapter 27 - Another White Day [16th Loop]  
042 - Chapter 36 - March 20th [16th Loop]  
043 - Chapter 45 - This Future...You Fought For It [16th Loop]  
044 - EXTRA CHAPTER 02 - Does it Count as a Double Date if Only Three out of Four Agree?

  
17th LOOP AU CHAPTERS

Chapter 1 - The Day the World Went Away  
Chapter 2 - Something I Can Never Have  
Chapter 3 - Hurt  
Chapter 4 - And All That Could Have Been  
Chapter 5 - Beside You in Time

  
NON-STORY CHAPTERS

Chapter 20 - Time to Make History  
Chapter 30 - Burn My Dread  
Chapter 40 - Burn My Dre-WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE!?!  
EXTRA CHAPTER 03 - March 21st Bad End 


	47. EXTRA CHAPTER 00 - In Response of Chapter 43 - Rumors

I apologize for the lateness of this posting. I know I stated I wanted to post this on Sunday, September 6 at 7pm PST. However, I wanted to make sure I had everything in order. I'm telling myself it is still September 6 in some parts of the world (mainly Hawaii), so that is my feeble excuse for this late posting.

In the comments for Chapter 43 - Rumors, two users (Redskin122004 and Kai_Roar) got into a...discussion that quickly escalated into an argument over the idea of Mishima being a victim or an accomplice. I will say that both have their points. However, by the time I was able to reply to the comments, it had gotten out of hand and would have required a lot to be unpacked as a simple comment reply or in the author note of the following day's chapter. Hence, this post.

Understand that I will be discussing numerous triggers in this posting, so I'll give a TL;DR now: I stand by what I wrote in regards to Mishima being no better than an accomplice of Kamoshida.

**TW: Talk about suicide**

**TW: Talk about rape**

**TW: Talk about abuse (physical, sexual, and mental)**

-

Everyone Knows

-

In discussing the idea on if Mishima is an accomplice of Kamoshida, several points were brought up. The majority of them stem from one conversation that happens between the Player Character, Ryuji, Mishima, and Kamoshida. In said conversation, Mishima claims that everyone knows about the abuse, but no one wants to do anything about it. The actual line states that the principle and their parents know. I also make allusions to this in what I've written here as well as another story I'm writing that will be posted in the future. During Chapter 08 - Time Paradox, Shiho yells at Akira much the same argument that Mishima uses. The line, which is the same in both the mentioned chapter as well as the future story, is this:

**_"Like who?" she asked as tears started to bead up in her eyes. "My parents? They were thrilled when they heard an Olympic-class athlete took an interest in me. The teachers? They don't care about anything except what makes them look good. The principle? I'm sure he knows about Kamoshida. The perfect little student council president? Her head is so far up the principles ass that she may as well be a continuation of him." she continued, her voice rising as the tears started to fall._ **

I further expand on her rant in the future story, with this:

**_"It's because Kamoshida raped me!" Shiho yelled, getting them to turn to her._ **

**_"He what!?" Ann yelled, turning her towards her. "No. No, please tell me this is a sick joke."_ **

**_"Yesterday, when he sent Mishima to summon me..." she trailed off, looking away from them._ **

**_"That effin' piece of shit!" Ryuji yelled, hit the wall next to him. "That...fuck!"_ **

**_"Why haven't you told anyone!?" Ann yelled, causing Shiho to start to close in on herself._ **

**_"Takamaki, ease up some." Akira said._ **

**_"You should have gone to the police, or the principle, or your parents, or-"_ **

**_"Because they don't care!" Shiho yelled, causing Ann to step back. "My parents didn't care when he started to molest me! They said it was 'normal' to be done in sports, and that I should be proud to catch the eye of someone like him! Why would they care if the molestation turned into rape!?"_ **

I acknowledge that people know what Kamoshida has done. I acknowledged it long before the idea for Chapter 43 - Rumors ever came to be. So far as I know, however, the only in-game acknowledgement that people outside the school know is the one line from Mishima. Assuming the rest of the staff don't know (Kawakami makes comments about not knowing while Chouno is leading a witch-hunt amongst the rest of the staff post-Kamoshida), that means the only one in Shujin who know the truth is Kobayakawa. Considering he is somehow wrapped up in Shido's conspiracy (easily the weakest plot-point in the entire game), it should be obvious why he won't say anything. Tack on his desire for Shujin to be known for its prestige, and he will never do or say anything to ruin the reputation until it is far too late.

That leaves the parents. As is stated in-game, Mishima claims their parents know how they are treated, but don't care. For this, there are four possibilities:

  1. Everyone's parents really don't care.
  2. The parents' reports are being suppressed.
  3. Mishima is exaggerating (knowingly or unknowingly) how many parents actually know.
  4. Mishima is lying.



While option number two is possible, it is also the most unlikely given what the game and real life tells us. While Kobayakawa has access to Shido's connections, there comes a point when something can no longer be suppressed. True, Shido managed to do this with the Player Character's arrest, but there is a difference when you're the one suing against someone who is basically and legally a kid as opposed to numerous complaints against the same person physically and sexually harassing students being made to multiple officers. Tack on Kamoshida being an internationally known Olympian and no amount of money or mental breakdowns would be able to stop it from spreading. Considering that Mishima's first chronological action in the game is to leak the Player Character's record, he is able to see first-hand what releasing something like that in a small environment would be. He has no excuse for not believing that spreading the truth about Kamoshida online would not have caused enough of a public outcry on an international level to cause Kobayakawa or Shido himself to do something about it.

Option number one would probably be the saddest possibility. Based on what you find in the depth of Mementos, as well as the fact that Yaldabaoth has been running unchecked for an undetermined amount of time, this is also the one with the highest probability of being real. If Yaldabaoth's manipulations are causing enough of an issue, it is possible that the adults are just truly apathetic to the plight of their children. Mix in the idea that the bruising and the molestation is normal in sports, and you have a perfect storm of the students believing no one will help them. If some parents do show concern, it's also a lot easier to suppress a handful as opposed to a large group. The only reason they start to care is because Shiho tries to kill herself, and the Phantom Thieves force Kamoshida to confess his crimes.

Option number three is also possible. We know the male volleyball team is being physically abused, and while it's not outright said it is heavily implied that that female volleyball team is being sexually abused on top of physically abused. However, we never get an answer one way or the other how many (if any) of them have gone to someone besides Kobayakawa for help. Perhaps Mishima went to Kobayawa for help, and after getting none went to his parents. If he found them to be apathetic, he may have just assumed others had the same outcome. He would have no reason to believe otherwise.

Before we get to that final option, remember what I said earlier. In this story and the new one I'm currently writing, I explicitly state that Shiho's parents KNOW what Kamoshida is doing to her. Their reasoning is simple: put up with it and you can say you were trained by an Olympic athlete.

**_"Get off of me!" she screamed, trying to kick him away. She knew the touches weren't accidents. She knew all the times he grabbed her butt, ran his hands along the sides of her breast, rested his hand on her upper thigh, she knew that he was molesting her. She had tried to ignore it. Her parents had told her to ignore it, since it would lead her to the Olympics. She knew if she could just put up with three years of it, she would then never have to see him again._ **

**_But this..._ **

**_...this was different._ **

However, even though I state that in a story, it does not mean it is official. From what I can remember, the ONLY one to say anything about the parents knowing is Mishima. That leads us to option number four.

Mishima is lying about parents knowing. While this option would firmly paint Mishima as being an accomplice, I also do not fully believe this is the actual answer. While Kamoshida could reasonably pull the "Don't talk or I'll make it worse." card on the students, there is still enough physical evidence that something wrong is happening. While injuries can be handwaved away as being because they are participating in a sport, the level and frequency of the injuries do not match the sport.

-

Staying Silent

-

Another point brought up in the comments was the idea that staying silent is no different than being an accomplice. Brought up specifically were Ryuji, Ann, and Shiho. Of the three, the only who would know for an absolute fact what was going on would be Shiho. She is also the one character we spend the least amount of time with. We don't know what Shiho is thinking. We can only speculate, much as I have, through fan fiction.

As for Ryuji and Ann, neither character show any knowledge of what was happening prior to first entering the Palace. Ryuji, as a former athlete under Kamoshida, could very well have just put the injuries as Kamoshida's insane and draconian teaching methods. The whole reason Kamoshida wanted the track team gone was to bring even more prestige to his volleyball team. So far as Ryuji is most likely concerned, Kamoshida wouldn't purposefully injure his players as that would mean risking said prestige.

Ann would only know as much as Shiho told her. Her only crime from a legal standpoint would be prostitution in the form of compensated dating in order to get her friend a place on the team. What, if any, legal backing a case against that would have is up in the air.

-

A Rat in a Sinking Ship

-

Probably the first comment that was mentioned before this exploded was the mess that is Mishima's confidant route. It's also the most telling part for what Atlus considers canon as well. The first few ranks of his confidant route are forced, most likely in order to give you a taste of what his confidant allows. In P5R, his confidant bonus is easily one of the most important to a new player: upping the amount of experience backup members get at the end of battle. This way, you're not running around with your chosen front-line team at level seventy-five while your ignored backup members are hovering around level twenty to forty.

It should be noted, however, that even just the first few ranks that are forced story-wise is enough to ensure you can get your full team at level ninety-nine for the end of the game by just cheesing battles against the Reaper. By doing so, it negates any gameplay reason to continue Mishima's confidant route. The only reason to continue it would be for the story.

When Mishima is first met, he is taking orders from Kamoshida. This goes along until Shiho tries to kill herself, and which point he is just sort of...there. This last until after Kamoshida's confession, as which point Mishima approaches the MC and tells him he knows who you are. The answers you can give are to basically deny everything, at which point Mishima reveals the Phan-site.

At this point, Mishima shows his true identity and colors. While I wouldn't expect undying loyalty from him to Kamoshida, his actions show that he will follow whoever has the best chances for him. During Kamoshida's reign as king, he holds all the power. Mishima, for whatever reason, is shown to help him. Once Kamoshida is taken out, however, Mishima quickly changes sides for the Phantom Thieves, the _new_ group that holds all the power.

The MC is now at an impasse. If you do not do any other confidant in the game, the only four people who truly find out your real identity are Sojiro, Sae, Akechi, and Mishima. Sojiro and Sae prove their allegiance toward the Phantom Thieves much the same was as Akechi proves his allegiance to taking out Shido. Based on what the game tells and shows us, it's pretty likely that Akechi never told Shido who the Phantom Thieves are, while the MC's alter-ego as Joker quickly becomes common knowledge due to his arrest. That leaves Mishima.

Mishima has already proven himself to be shaky with his allegiances at best. One could take his showing of the Phan-site to the MC after he denies being a member of the Phantom Thieves as blackmail.

During the rest of his confidant route, Mishima is shown to be going on a power trip. He likes to pretend to be a "hero of justice" and gets upset any time the MC brushes off his comments. This eventually makes it way to him purchasing a fake gun he uses to scare people and making demands of the Phantom Thieves to change people's hearts for the simple reason that he says they are evil thus they must be changed. This gets to the point of the Phantom Thieves going into Mementos to change Mishima's heart, only to decide it is not worth it, something which forces Mishima to have a change of heart anyways. He eventually decides to become a documentary writer, and gives the MC the script for the first episode of an online series dedicated to the Phantom Thieves.

However, let's look at the answers you can give. During the course of the game, Atlus provides up to three answers you can give a character, generally a nice answer, a neutral answer, and a jerk answer. The answer you give really doesn't change much as far as story goes, and only affects how much time you will have to spend with a character to rank up their confidant. When speaking with Mishima, however, Atlus changes the answers you can give. Instead, you get a neutral answer, a jerk answer, and an evil answer. The game outright acknowledges that you are supposed to treat him worse than any other character in the game, including the Shadows you are fighting. This all most likely stems from one action that Mishima never does throughout the entire one hundred fifty hour runtime of Persona 5 Royal.

Mishima never apologizes for what he did.

While a simple "I'm sorry" would never be enough to undo what his actions caused, it would go a long way to showing him as being remorseful. Sure, maybe one can consider his making the Phan-site as being an act of remorse and asking forgiveness, but considering he uses it in-story to go on a power trip and make demands for hearts to be changed, it seems less likely and completely insincere if it was. One of the original comments mentioned how Mishima never admits to the school what he did. It is probably this one unfulfilled action that causes the massive amount of hate to be leveled at Mishima.

-

The Real-World Consequences

-

Let's leave the realm of Persona 5 for a moment and enter the real world. While I cannot speak for the laws of Japan, I can speak for them here in the US based on what I have personally seen. Abuse cases such as the Kamoshida led would see obvious police involvement. A lot of people beside Kamoshida would have gone to jail for what he did, chief among them Kobayakawa. This does not happen in game for whatever reason (Yaldabaoth's manipulations, Shido, Kamoshida's confession not indicting anyone enabling him). Police involvement does not start with questioning until they start to look for the Phantom Thieves.

As stated, this would not happen in the real world. People would be arrested with their sentences based on their level of involvement. Others would be forced to step down and vanish into obscurity. This would also not protect those who were abused as well based on what they did. Lets once again look back at the four primary characters and look at what their level of involvement was.

Ryuji, along with the rest of the track team, took Kamoshida's training as a silent challenge. Kamoshida wanted the track team gone, but couldn't just get rid of it because it brought prestige to Shujin, something his chief enabler cared greatly about. Instead, he gets the original track coach fired and takes his place. He then makes them run in conditions just shy of medically lethal. However, they do not quit. He then learns about Ryuji's home-life and uses that to push him over the edge. At this point, he could have had Ryuji expelled and arrested for assault. He doesn't, and instead uses it to disband the track team with Ryuji as the perfect scapegoat. Ryuji doesn't fully learn the level of abuse Kamoshida is giving other students, however, until entering his Palace.

Ann is, essentially, backed into a corner. Kamoshida is using his position of power in order to get a foreign high school girl to be his pseudo-girlfriend. Ann is basically forced into compensated dating with the payment being Kamoshida continuing to allow her friend to be on the volleyball team. While she may be suspicious (her commenting on the state Shiho is in prior to Mishima relaying Kamoshida's request), nothing in the game shows that she has any definitive proof. While not a contact sport, volleyball is _still_ a sport. It is also a sport being taught at an Olympic level by a former Olympian with unstated orders to make the school known nationally for their prowess with volleyball. The only thing she could reasonably be accused of is not agreeing to have sex with Kamoshida, which led him to raping Shiho as opposed to his spoken threat of removing her from the starting position.

Shiho, along with every other member of the volleyball teams, could be accused of the current "staying silent is the same as committing the crime" rhetoric that is spreading across the US right now. As I stated earlier, in the game it is never stated just how many (if any) have actually gone to the principle, or the police, or their parents. We are never given Shiho's thoughts on why she stayed, but to say she is at fault is no different than victim-shaming a rape victim by saying she was asking for it with how she dressed.

Finally, we get to Mishima. He, as well, was a victim of Kamoshida's abuse. I don't deny that. However, his actions after being abused are different than everyone else. By acting as Kamoshida's errand boy and knowingly sending students to him to be abused, he leaves the legal definition of a victim and enters into criminally liable. Before we look at his actions, I want to again state that I **DO NOT** know Japan's laws, and can only speak from the US mindset. Now, let's look once again at Mishima's confirmed actions from a US federal sentencing standpoint:

Facilitation of rape leading to suicide attempt

Facilitation of abuse, both physical and mental

Leaking and spreading of confidential information

Again, this is just what we KNOW happens in the game. We don't see what has happened prior to this. From those, however, he would gain in US court multiple departures based on the outcomes of the actions. These are as follows:

Physical Injury (multiple counts, increasing sentence)

Extreme Psychological Injury (multiple counts, increasing sentence)

Coercion and Duress (possibly lowering the sentence)

One of the original arguments for Mishima not being an accomplice is that he is coerced into helping Kamoshida. From a legal standpoint, this only works should there be significant belief of bodily harm being possible. While Mishima's appearance does show said belief to be valid, it also downplays the coercion. You cannot claim fear of physical assault when you're being physically assaulted anyways. While it may lower his sentence some, it would not be by much considering the levels and amounts of the other crimes and departures.

Of course, this leads to another issue. The only true defense for Mishima's actions are that he was coerced into doing what he did. However, the fact that he was still physically assaulted would show fairly quickly that playing errand boy for Kamoshida wouldn't save him. This brings up one final argument against Mishima being an accomplice.

-

Sounds Like Stockholm Syndrome To Me

-

For those who may not know, Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological condition where a hostage starts to show sympathy and compassion toward their captor. There are four qualifications to be met for this to be considered it. While he does not meet the exact qualifications for Stockholm Syndrome, an argument _could_ be made for him having Uncle Tom Syndrome. This, while more of a psychological theory than an official condition, is the idea that a person will go through extreme conditions up to and including physical harm and death while still attempting to appease the person abusing them.

If this would work as a valid defense, though, is up in the air. As stated, Uncle Tom Syndrome is still considered a psychological theory. However, in trying to get Mishima to not face jail-time in the real world, this would be his one and only defense.

-

Then Jump **(TW: Talk of Suicide)**

-

I'm going to preface this by saying I'm expecting a lot of a hate for what I'm about to say. If you want to send me hate-mail for this, go ahead. Flood the comments with it. However, should any fighting start up in regards to this portion of the topic, I **WILL** delete said comments. You can say whatever the fuck you want about me. Leave other readers and my beta out of it.

One comment brought up how cold Akira was to tell Mishima to jump. They responded by saying that someone in Mishima's position most likely would despite Akira suggesting otherwise. For those who may have skipped the chapter yet are for whatever reason reading this, here is the line in question with context:

**_"Don't ever talk like you're some victim in front of me again."_ **

**_"But I am one!"_ **

**_"Then jump." Akira said, causing Mishima to suck in a breath. They stood there, Akira glaring into Mishima's constantly moving eyes for a moment before Mishima completely turned his head away._ **

**_"But...I really am a victim of him."_ **

They argue that Akira is cold to say this. However, let's back up a bit earlier in the chapter. I state a bit earlier that Mishima is within earshot of this. Here is another scene from that chapter:

**_"Do us a favor and jump, criminal."_ **

**_He grit his teeth as that last comment said to him brought a moment of silence. Ever since Shiho tried to kill herself, telling someone to jump had become taboo. Any time someone said it to someone else, everyone around them would gang up on the person who said it. It was no longer fatalistic humor. He waited a moment, only to hear normal conversation start up again. He bit down the urge to scream and instead made his way onto the roof, picking the lock on the door in the process._ **

Mishima could have easily opened his mouth and said something. He could have spoken up in defense of Akira, or even just spoken up against the person who said it. Instead, he simply let it slide. This is right after the students around them talk about adding Akira's name to the Phan-site because they believe he is going to harm Mishima.

I never state in the story if Mishima jumps. In my notes and the timeline I posted, he does not jump. I have a vastly unpopular opinion as for why.

In my opinion, Mishima lacks the conviction to do so. For being called the "coward's way out" suicide requires a strong conviction to carry through with the act. From what Atlus has shown us with Mishima's character, he shows more signs of not doing so because of his belief that he is just as much a victim as anyone else, despite what his actions were. He has the school and the students telling him he was a victim, as well as the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Akira is the single angry voice amongst the loud masses. His conviction would shift to proving Akira is wrong in that he really is a victim.

I understand why this is an unpopular opinion. It's far easier for the living to call someone who killed themselves a coward than to acknowledge someone needing to have the conviction to go forward with it. But like I said, nothing in the game shows Mishima as having that kind of conviction.

-

What the Game Tells Us vs. Speculation

-

When's all said and done, all we have to go on is what Atlus shows us in-game. We can sit here and speculate through fan fiction all we want, but that will never lead us anywhere. As stated throughout this post, Atlus paints us a picture of someone who, while being victimized, is also voluntarily helping his abuser abuse other people. His actions are, again:

Leaking the existence of the MC's criminal record and arrest

Knowingly sending Shiho to be abused

Showing knowledge that Shiho was sexually assaulted as opposed to physical abuse

Creating the Phan-site and telling the MC he knows, which can be seen as blackmail

Beginning to use the Phan-site to force change-of-hearts by his own choosing ala Shido

Begins to go on a power trip when the MC refuses to change the hearts he demands

Nowhere during the course of the game or his confidant route do we ever actually see Mishima apologize for what he did to the MC. Maybe he believes being the "PR Manager" for the Phantom Thieves is enough of an apology, but canonically in-game this is shown to not be the case with the answers you can give.

Now, we can speculate all we want. If Mishima did the aforementioned actions for Kamoshida than it stands to the reason that he did other things for the man as well. It is not at all hard to believe that Kamoshida would have made Mishima act as an errand boy when collecting other students as well. However, the game does not explicitly say that. Likewise, an argument could be made that Mishima is so badly beaten because he is volunteering to take other students places when Kamoshida gets in his moods. Shiho could very well have just been one of the few exceptions where Kamoshida wouldn't take Mishima as a substitute because he wanted sex as opposed to a punching bag.

As I said in the beginning, I stand by what I said and what I wrote. The Mishima shown in game does not deserve forgiveness since he has not apologized for any of his actions. He has only shown himself to be an accomplice to the crimes perpetrated by Kamoshida. Any future Persona 5 story I write will not be kind to Mishima either. While they will most likely not get to the level of Chapter 43 - Rumors, they will show Akira as apathetic to Mishima's attempts to get close. You can read FLOrangey's _One Year on Probation_ for an idea on how future Mishima interactions will go.

-

Words from the Beta

-

Hello, Beta here! You may see me hanging out in the comments section every now and then. I've posted a few, but I also read all of them.

Along with checking the fics for glaring errors, I also discuss many of them with el_pepe before he posts them. Sometimes, this leads to new additions, like the ending to chapter 36 (March 20th) that was mentioned in a comment on chapter 45 (This Future...You Fought For It).

For chapter 43, however, it led to the author's note at the end of the chapter.

Abuse is a complicated topic to depict and discuss, which has become harder to work through in the past few years as more allegations are made that become sensationalized high-profile cases. It's a serious topic that requires more thought before writing and posting on.

When I did the initial read of "Rumors," it was clear that this would be a chapter that was close to hitting dangerous territory. The two of us sat there for a while and discussed the implications of the chapter, as it did focus on a main character who could very well be victim blaming. I'm aware of el_pepe's headcanons about Mishima, as I have not only listened to them, but read more about them in a current WIP. But I also knew that the readers would not have that knowledge, which could cause this chapter to be seen as nothing more than a hate chapter, rather than a look at what ten years of rumors would do to a person's mental state. The discussion is the reason the chapter had an author's note. The goal was to show that Akira saw the events very differently from everyone else because of his knowledge of the future, mainly that the rumors never stop and Mishima starts craving control. Mishima being a victim is a statement that becomes gray as Akira lives with the consequences of rumors for several years, but it's also clear to the others that his actions in that scene are considered harsh.

As stated earlier in this essay, any fanfic writer has to rely on headcanons because the source material gives little to work with at times. Now, as far as I aware, perhaps an issue with Mishima's confidant is fixed in P5R or the anime and I did not know about it. But unless something happens that provides a way for Mishima to canonically receive better treatment, it's safe to assume that this is the headcanon el_pepe has and will keep through other fics. You do not have to agree with it, and you are welcome to civilly discuss any alternate takes in the comments, but I do ask that you be respectful in your replies to both this post and other commenters.


	48. EXTRA CHAPTER 01 - With Friends Like These...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While the overall story is now finished, there are still sixteen years worth of stories to tell about Akira's loops through the same year. I offer absolutely zero guarantee on how often these will be posted, nor how many of these will be written.
> 
> Takes place between Chapter 09 - Dinner and a Show, and the first part of Chapter 31 - An Entertaining Sight.

It was February 16th, and Akira was still reeling from the high he felt over the past few days. Intellectually, he knew the high would only make the time resetting again worse, but he couldn't help it. He had had a crush on Sae since pretty early on. The fact that he finally managed to find a way to get her to agree to date him only made the feelings grow.

His phone dinging drew his attention. He picked it up and looked down at it, seeing Ryuji had sent him a message in the group chat. As more people started to comment, he once again found himself questioning just how he had managed to keep quiet around Akechi.

**SKULL:** So Bro...how was your date at the opera last night?

**SKULL:** You even get home yet?

**VIOLET:** Wait, Akira-senpai had a date!?

**SKULL:** Yep. Lucky bastard got asked out the night of fourteenth.

**SKULL:** Apparently got chocolates and everything.

**ORACLE:** He was asked out in Leblanc?

**FOX:** He was. I was with Boss when he called asking for help on what to wear that night.

**FOX:** Boss took him to find a tuxedo because he refused to let a kid of his not look presentable.

**FOX:** I do admit, I am also curious how the date went.

**NOIR:** That would explain why Leblanc opened late yesterday.

**JOKER:** Wait...I haven't started back to school yet, but you still have classes.

**JOKER:** How do you know Leblanc opened late yesterday?

**NOIR:** I went by there before going to class to ask Boss to sample some new coffee beans.

**ORACLE:** I wasn't home with my computer!

**NOIR:** I just tell the school it's business-related, and they just smile and nod their heads.

**ORACLE:** I never thought to check the bugs!

**JOKER:** ...what?

**ORACLE:** What time was it!? I need to check!

**JOKER:** Futaba...what bugs?

**JOKER:** I thought you said you got rid of them all.

**ORACLE:** Soooooo...who's the lucky girl?

**JOKER:** Futaba...the bugs. Where are they?

**PANTHER:** I'm curious as well. So is Shiho. Who's the girl?

**JOKER:** Futaba, where are the bugs?

**QUEEN:** Um...Ryuji...did you say he had a date at the opera last night?

**JOKER:** Futaba, answer me!

**SKULL:** Yeah, he did.

**QUEEN:** My sister went to the opera last night. She wouldn't tell me with who.

"Wait...did Sae not tell Makoto we went together?" he muttered, rereading the last text.

**QUEEN:** She almost looked like a giddy teenager going on her first date.

**QUEEN:** She even blushed and stammered when I asked her who she was going with.

Akira felt his face warm up at the thought. The idea that going on a date with him had that much of an effect on Sae made him blush slightly. Without thinking of the consequences, he quickly typed and sent a response to what she said.

**JOKER:** She did!?

"Shit..." he muttered, looking at what he just said.

**JOKER:** I mean...uh...

**QUEEN:** Wait.

**QUEEN:** Akira...did you and my sister go on a...

**QUEEN:** ...date?

**SKULL:** He sure did!

"Damn it, Ryuji!"

**FOX:** I must confess, I was shocked when Boss mentioned it over the phone with us.

"Damn you too, Inari!"

**NOIR:** So you went a on date with Mako-chan's sister?

**VIOLET:** Wait...isn't she like twice your age, Senpai?

**JOKER:** No she's not. She's eight or nine years older.

**SKULL:** Never took you for a cougar-chaser, Bro.

**SKULL:** Then again, maybe it's not that big of a surprise based on who you hung out with.

**JOKER:** Ryuji, you're already set to earn three punches to the face from me.

**JOKER:** Are you sure you want to add more to it?

**SKULL:** Worth it.

**ORACLE:** I HAVE FOUND THE CONVERSATION!

**JOKER:** WHAT!?!

**SKULL:** SEND IT!!!

**ORACLE:** I WILL NOW DELIVER THE CONVERSATION!

**JOKER:** Futaba, don't you fucking dare!

**ORACLE:** topkek_Akira_x_Sae_teeth_rotting.mkv

**JOKER:** IT'S A VIDEO!?!

**JOKER:** YOU HAVE HIDDEN CAMERAS IN HERE!?!

**ORACLE:** So what if I do?

**JOKER:** Please, for the love GOD tell me you don't have any in my room!

**ORACLE:** Weeeeeelllllll...

**JOKER:** Futaba, I will break your fucking computer and tell Sojiro to never buy you parts again.

**ORACLE:** Okay, okay...

**ORACLE:** I only have audio recording in your room.

**ORACLE:** I don't even leave it on most of the time.

Akira lowered his phone for a moment. He was very glad that he hadn't had anyone over during this time through. Some of the things he had gotten up to during the previous times through...

...hoo boy...

He raised his phone back up a moment later to continue telling her off.

**JOKER:** Better idea. Remove them!

**SKULL:** Dude! The look on your face when she kissed you!

**SKULL:** I'm over here dying of laughter right now!

**PANTHER:** I thought it was pretty sweet.

**PANTHER:** So does Shiho.

**PANTHER:** Shiho: "You should have asked him for tips, Ann."

**FOX:** I hope to have the base image done by the end of the day.

**FOX:** I will send it to you in order to receive both Nijima-san's and your approval.

Akira's eyebrow raised at that. He had a pretty good idea what Yusuke was talking about, but honestly hoped he was wrong.

**JOKER:** ...base image?

**FOX:** Yes. The moment when true love is realized! The moment your lips meet! The passion!

**FOX:** It will become my masterpiece!

Akira let out a sigh and shook his head. He didn't even have the strength to comment on that.

**ORACLE:** Seriously, Inari?

**NOIR:** I'm happy for you, Akira-kun!

**NOIR:** Also, Mona-chan wants to know when you heard Boss's tips on asking out someone.

**VIOLET:** I'm happy for you as well, Senpai!

**JOKER:** Well...I guess it seems like everyone agrees at least.

**NOIR:** What about you, Mako-chan?

Akira leaned back a bit and continued to look down at the phone. A few moments passed before the three dots appeared. He was curious what Makoto would say about it. Once the message appeared, he realized he would have to wait a bit longer.

**NOIR:** Mako-chan?

**SKULL:** Wait...did we break Queen?

**ORACLE:** I've hacked into her phone. It's showing the chat is still open.

**ORACLE:** She's also watched the video I sent you guys.

**VIOLET:** Uh...hacked her phone?

**FOX:** You get used to it.

**FOX:** For example, if she ever tells you about adding more trees to a painting, it's a joke.

**VIOLET:** Uh...okay...?

**JOKER:** Makoto? You still with us?

**PANTHER:** Maybe the shock knocked her out?

**SKULL:** Queen.exe has stopped responding.

**ORACLE:** Akira broke Queen!

**QUEEN:** Akira!

Even though it was only a text, he gulped slightly. Somehow, he knew she was sending him a Nijima Death Glare through her phone.

**ORACLE:** She's back! And she sounds pissed!

**JOKER:** Yes, Makoto?

**QUEEN:** You're dating my sister!?

**JOKER:** Well...I went on _a_ date with her.

**QUEEN:** You're dating my sister!

**QUEEN:** Do you realize just how much older she is then you!?

**QUEEN:** Do you realize just what would happen if it got out that she was dating you!?

**QUEEN:** What the hell were you thinking!?

**QUEEN:** Were you thinking!?

**QUEEN:** Were you even using your head at all!?

**QUEEN:** You must not have if this was your smart idea!

**SKULL:** I bet he was thinking with a head.

Akira winced as Ryuji decided to kill himself.

**QUEEN:** WHAT WAS THAT!?

**SKULL:** Sorry Queen!

**QUEEN:** Akira! What the fuck were you thinking!?

**NOIR:** Mako-chan swore!

Akira let out a sigh. He looked at the phone, noticing that no one else was saying anything, least they catch Makoto's wrath as well. He thought for a moment, and decided to go for broke. After all the lying he had done over the years, he figured it would be nice to tell the full truth for once.

**JOKER:** Let me at least finish before you say anything, okay?

**QUEEN:** Very well.

**JOKER** : Look. I kind of had a thing for her, okay. She's beautiful, intelligent, witty.

**JOKER:** We talked some, but I always put it in the back of my mind that nothing would happen.

**JOKER:** Like you said, she's older than me. She's a working professional. I'm a teenager.

**JOKER:** When she showed up with that extra ticket, I didn't know what to think. I was shocked.

**JOKER:** When she told me she had a thing for me as well...I...

**JOKER:** I like her, Makoto. I really do.

**JOKER:** I told myself that nothing would come from it, but then she asked me to go with her.

**JOKER:** Honestly, I thought I was dreaming. I thought I would wake up and it never happened.

**JOKER:** I don't want to cause problems for her, or with your relationship with her.

**JOKER:** But I really do like and care for her.

**JOKER:** Futaba says you watched the video. When Sae told me she would regret not asking me?

**JOKER:** I feel the same way. I would regret not taking that chance.

**JOKER:** That's all I got to say.

**QUEEN:** ...

**SKULL:** *eats popcorn*

**PANTHER:** *eats candy*

**PANTHER:** Shiho: *takes drink of soda*

**ORACLE:** *steals candy and popcorn from Ryuji and Ann*

**QUEEN:** Are you three...or rather FOUR...finished?

**PANTHER:** Shiho: "Don't mind us President Nijima, we're just enjoying the show."

Akira let out a laugh at that. He also wondered if Shiho actually said it, or if Ann was just using her name in order to get away with saying it and not get in trouble.

**QUEEN:** Getting back to the matter at hand.

**QUEEN:** I can't say I approve of this, Akira.

**QUEEN:** However, I can't deny that you're a good person.

**QUEEN:** I also can't deny that she hasn't looked this happy since, well...since before Dad died.

**QUEEN:** Understand that if you hurt her, you'll wish you were facing Yaldabaoth alone.

**QUEEN:** It would be a far quicker death that way.

**JOKER:** Understood, Queen.

**QUEEN:** Good.

**QUEEN:** Just...please...don't turn me into an aunt prior to finishing my first year of college.

Akira felt his face turn red at that comment.

**ORACLE:** His face is turning all red!

**ORACLE:** Shit...I mean, uh...

...what...

**JOKER:** FUTABA! WHAT THE FUCK!?

**SKULL:** The sequel's starting!

**ORACLE:** I mean I bet his face is turning red...yeah...that's it!

**PANTHER:** *grabs more snacks and drinks*

**JOKER:** FUTABA!

**JOKER:** WHERE

**JOKER:** ARE

**JOKER:** THE

**JOKER:** FUCKING

**JOKER:** CAMERAS!?!

**ORACLE:** Sorry...I think my phone is broken...uh...I'll talk to you later.

**JOKER:** I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, FUTABA!

**ORACLE:** No you don't.

**NOIR:** It's like a real-life horror movie!

**JOKER:** You better be ready to show me where every camera is, Futaba.

**VIOLET:** It really does feel like one, Okumura-senpei!

**JOKER:** Otherwise, your computer is going to die.

With that final text sent, he pocketed his phone and ran out of Leblanc.

He had a surrogate little sister to kill.

-

It was close to closing time for Leblanc. Sojiro was busy counting the till while Akira was working on inventorying the coffee beans when the door opened. He looked over and felt his face heat up slightly as Sae walked in, looking tired.

"I don't suppose I could get a cup of coffee, could I?" she asked, sounding tired as well.

"Of course." Sojiro said, looking toward Akira. "Make the lady a cup of coffee."

"With pleasure." he replied, grabbing the jar of Kona coffee beans. Sojiro nodded before closing the till.

"Well, I need to head home." he said, looking between them for a moment. "Hopefully by now Futaba will have let go of her computer after you threatened to destroy it."

"And hopefully she has learned her lesson about putting cameras in people's rooms." Akira replied, getting Sojiro to nod his head.

"Well, enjoy yourselves." he said, smiling at both of them before heading out. He flipped the sign to "CLOSED" and locked the door before heading home.

"I understand that Makoto read you the riot act." Sae said, causing Akira to look up at her from where he was preparing the cups of coffee for them.

"You...could say that." he said, looking back down to continue his prep.

"She had an earful for me as well." she said, getting him to look up at her for a moment. "Last time I had someone talk down to me and make me feel that small was when I got into a fight once during school and my mother glared down at me. I never thought Makoto would do that to me."

"Well, we kinda learned quickly to be careful what we said around her in order to not set her off." Akira said, remembering all the times over the years he had caught hell from the girl.

"Was probably a good skill to have." Sae said, chuckling slightly. Akira put a cup of coffee down in front of her and the second cup down in the spot next to her. He walked around the bar and sat down next to her as she took the cup and took a sip. "She showed me what you said."

"I meant it." he said, taking a drink of the coffee as well. "I really do care about you, Sae. When you asked me, I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't say yes to going with you."

"Your friend does know I will never consent to allowing him to make that an art piece, correct?" she asked him after a moment, causing him to chuckle.

"I highly doubt he knows that." he said, turning his head to look at her. "He won't do more than a base image without consent, though, so everything will be alright."

"You really do have the most...eclectic...friend group."

"I can't deny that." he replied, causing her to laugh.

"I still can't get over Makoto, though." she said, taking another sip of coffee. "I never would have guessed that she would be acting like an older sister talking down to me like that. I do understand where she is coming from, though."

"I know." he said, taking a sip of his own coffee. "I see where she's coming from also."

"That doesn't change anything, though." she said, turning to look at him. He looked over at her as well and she smiled at him. "I don't regret anything. I'm glad I asked you to go with me."

"I don't regret agreeing to go with you, either."

"Let's just...take our time and see where things go." Sae said, causing him to smile.

"I agree."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said earlier, I don't know how often I will be posting an extra chapter like this. However, I can say that there will be more to come.
> 
> If you're interested, you can also read my Persona 4 story "His Partner's Secret" which was the original idea I had for a time-loop one-shot.


	49. EXTRA CHAPTER 02 - Does it Count as a Double Date if Only Three out of Four Agree?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea comes from a comment left by RosalineGift on Chapter 31 - An Entertaining Sight. I chuckled at the idea and moved on, but the thought of Akira/Sae and Ryuji/Hifumi going on a double-date just wouldn't leave me. Takes place post-Chapter 45.

"You know, when you said a nice dinner-date, I wasn't expecting The Wilton." Sae said, holding his arm as the rode the elevator up to the restaurant. "Just out of curiosity, was this where you had planned for White Day?"

"No." he replied, looking at her for a moment. "In all actuality, Sojiro told me about that place. I figured we'd save it for White Day next year. Ann brought us here last year to celebrate changing Kamoshida's heart. We actually formed the Phantom Thieves here when Ryuji brought up the fact there were still terrible people in the world after we bumped into Shido and the rest of his conspiracy."

"A coincidence like that almost sounds like bad writing." she said, causing him to chuckle. He really couldn't deny that she was right in thinking so. "Well, I have always wanted to try The Wilton." she continued after a moment, resting her head against his. He smiled at the feeling and rested his against hers for a moment as well.

It had been six months since that fateful evening in Leblanc when Sae asked him out and he managed to break out of the time-loop. While at first, Sae was reluctant to be seen in public with him due to his age, she had become more open to the idea after he turned eighteen. While they did their best to not advertise themselves, word was slowly leaking out about the new director of the Special Investigation Unit, something that hadn't happened in any other time-loop, dating the former leader of the Phantom Thieves. While some talks came up in regards to a potential conflict of interest, any sparks that arose online were quickly removed and scrubbed from existence.

Akira had no intention of ever telling Sae that Futaba was the one removing them, though he was also pretty sure she knew that.

Still, it was nice to be able to take her places. While she had a hard time believing the lie he told the rest of the Thieves and Sojiro about where his fortune came from, he also knew she had no other choice. Thus, he made it a point to take her to nice places, partly because he believed she deserved to be spoiled at times and partly out of a small unspoken fear that she would grow tired of being with someone nine years younger than her.

As the elevator dinged and the doors opened, they walked out arm in arm. A shock of dyed blond hair grabbed his attention as soon as they walked out, and by the double-take the person took, he noticed them as well.

"Yo! Akira!" Ryuji called out, causing Hifumi and Sae to turn. Ryuji walked over toward them, holding Hifumi's hand in his. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I could say the same." he replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. While he had no problem hanging out with Ryuji or Hifumi, he just wanted to enjoy his time with Sae. "Just get here, or...?" he asked, trailing off. Maybe he would be lucky and they were just getting ready to leave.

"Nah, we must have just missed you on the elevator coming up." Ryuji said, smiling. Akira nodded his head, trying to plaster a passable smile on his face as he turned to Hifumi.

"Hifumi, this is Nijima Sae, Makoto's sister and my girlfriend. Sae, this is Togo Hifumi, professional shogi player and Ryuji's girlfriend." he said, introducing the two.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Hifumi said, bowing slightly. Sae returned the bow, her eyes having widened slightly at what Akira had said.

"Likewise." she replied. "I must say, the level of friends Akira here seemed to amass during this previous year and a half keeps growing. I believe you are on a seventeen-game win streak, correct?"

"I am." she replied, nodding slightly while smiling. "Would you two care to join us? I'm sure they would allow us to take a table for four as opposed to two tables for two."

"Yeah, you two should totally join us." Ryuji added, looking between them.

"No...I mean, we really shouldn't intrude." Akira said, trying to keep his voice even.

"I don't see a problem with it." Sae said, causing Akira to snap his head toward her. "I'm honestly a little curious." she continued, looking between Ryuji and Hifumi. "After all, it's not every day you get to meet a professional shogi player, nor her...boyfriend."

"Seriously...what's with that pause?" Ryuji asked, looking at her.

"Well, we really don't know if they'll even allow us to take a table for four when we had two different reservations, right?" Akira cut in. "We shouldn't make plans if we really don't know if they'll let us do them."

"Well, I'll go ask." Ryuji said. He leaned down and kiss Hifumi briefly before making his way to the maitre d'. After a few moments, Akira noticed the unmistakable signs of defeat spread across Ryuji and quickly suppressed the smirk that spread across his face. It died down just as quickly as it appeared when Ryuji stood up straight and reached for his wallet. The maitre d' looked at him for a moment before holding out his hand, and he watched in horror as Ryuji started placing money in it. The maitre d' closed his hand after a moment and said something , causing Ryuji to nod and turn to make his back to them.

"Well?" Hifumi asked, taking his hand as he returned.

"After a small discussion, he said we can have a table for four." Ryuji said proudly.

"Excellent." Sae said, looking at Akira. "Isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." he replied, trying to put some emotion in his voice. He had to admit, it wasn't really the end of the world. It wasn't like he didn't know Ryuji and Hifumi. And even if it was now a double-date, he would still get to spend time with Sae.

It still didn't make him regret for the first time sharing the literal billions of yen he had earned mugging Shadows and selling every scrap item he didn't need over the past seventeen years with the rest of the Thieves once he was sure he broke out of the time-loop.

"I hope you don't mind if we talk about your...former job, a bit?" Hifumi asked, causing them to look at her. "Ryuji has explained some of it to me, but I was wondering if you could give your take as well."

"I'd also like to know." Sae said, turning to face him. "I know you gave me the rough version during your interrogation, and I've spoken to both Makoto and yourself about it, but I'm curious about some of the more generic things that may have been left out." she continued, turning to face Ryuji. "Perhaps you could also give me an idea of what Akira and Makoto were like, seeing as they were the leaders."

"I guess I could be convinced to tell some stories." Ryuji said, turning to look at Akira with a smirk.

Akira reached his hand in his pocket and was halfway through with pulling his phone out to have Futaba activate ever single alarm in the building before he managed to stop himself.

Mostly, he stopped because he knew Futaba would live-stream the audio to the rest of the Thieves.

-

"You really jumped on top of these...Shadows...and yelled out 'I'll reveal your true form!' every single time?" Sae asked, looking at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. He let out a small sigh and lowered his head, nodding. He noticed Hifumi trying her best to not laugh at him, and had to admit even Sae looked like she wanted to laugh at it as well. "For real?"

"Heh...F." Ryuji muttered, causing Akira to look up at him. "Don't give me that look, man." he continued, leaning back slightly. "Even you had to admit that some of the sh...stuff you pulled was totally Extra."

"No it wasn't." he snapped back quickly, causing Ryuji to simply raise an eyebrow at him.

"So you're telling me that you running in a circle after every fight we did was totally normal?" he asked, leaning forward. "Because you were the only doing that. No one else was running with you. I'm the runner, and even I sure as hell wasn't running with you."

"You would run in a circle?" Sae asked, raising an eyebrow as well as Hifumi lost the battle against her giggles.

"So...can we stop talking about me now?" Akira asked, looking at them. "How about we talk about Makoto?"

"Yeah, but she's not here right now, Bro." Ryuji replied, grinning at him. "But you are."

"So are you." he replied, narrowing his eyes. "Apartment. The drive into Futaba's Palace. Beach. Hawaii. Sure you want to continue?"

"...so anyways, Queen had this bitchin' Persona."

-

"I truly find it hard to believe that the studious-looking girl I met would believe following you while holding a manga would mean you couldn't see her." Hifumi said, trying not to giggle. Sae, meanwhile, was resting her head against the table trying and mostly failing to not laugh.

"Yeah, I really couldn't believe it either." Akira said, smirking before turning to look at Ryuji. "Remember when we tried to give her the slip?"

"Led her all over Tokyo, and there she was." Ryuji said, snickering. "Same page, always upside down."

"It was upside down as well!?" Sae asked, turning up to look at them. They nodded their heads, causing her to giggle and laugh. It was the first time Akira actually heard her giggle.

He liked it.

"Probably should have tried to take a bullet train." Ryuji said, getting Akira to chuckle. "I wonder if she would have followed us?"

"She would have." he said, getting them to laugh some more. He only smirked.

He knew she would because he tried it once during an earlier loop.

He couldn't exactly tell them that story, though.

-

"So, Ann walks up to this...what was he? Some rich wannabe foreign guy or something? Anyways, she walks up to him and starts talking in this totally fake British accent." Ryuji said, trying not to laugh. "For a girl who wants to go into acting, she _totally_ can't act to save her life. Literally."

"Her acting can't be that bad." Sae said, leaning back and crossing her arms. "You all managed to fool Akechi and the police."

"I mean, I guess that's true." he said, nodding his head. "I guess it was different with that. In the Metaverse, we had powers to fall back on. The times we heard her try and act out here, we really weren't in danger. With Akechi and the police, though, we had no fallback."

"You probably have a point with that." Akira said, taking a drink of his tea. "To be fair, though, she has improved with her acting once she started taking classes during her free time."

"True." Ryuji agreed.

"So...how bad was it then?" Hifumi asked, causing Ryuji to snicker.

" _Top of the morning, Love. I do say that you look right lovely as always._ " he said in a forced British accent, causing Hifumi to let out a laugh.

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"Actually, I think that was better than the one she did." Akira said, causing Hifumi and Sae to look at him in silent shock.

-

"You did _what_ in the church!?" Hifumi asked, scandalized.

"He made me T-pose in the church." Akira repeated. "He said he wanted to capture the anguish of _The Passion_."

"By T-posing in a church?" she asked again. He nodded his head in agreement. Ryuji leaned back looking at him, shaking his head, while Sae looked confused.

"T-pose?" she asked, looking between them.

"It's when you stand straight with your arms outright." Ryuji said, raising his arm next to Hifumi out. "Kinda like this."

"That would have been preferable." Akira said, causing Ryuji to look back at him. "It's Yusuke we're talking about."

"Wanted you to do something even more Extra than you're used to doing?" Ryuji asked, his voice going sympathetic.

"Very Extra." he replied, nodding his head. "I still did it, but still."

"At least he didn't want to paint you naked." Ryuji said after a moment, grinning.

"What?" Sae asked, turning to look at Akira.

"I offered. He agreed, but then realized we would probably get kicked out of the church." Akira answered.

"What!?" Hifumi and Sae exclaimed, both now looking at Akira.

He noticed that they also drew a few looks for a moment.

-

"So, you made it sound like getting these powers was extremely painful." Sae asked, looking between them. "Just out of curiosity, how painful are we talking."

"Between the pain of the two, I'd take Kamoshida breaking my leg any day of the week as opposed to having to feel that level of pain again." Ryuji said without hesitation, picking up his glass of soda to take a drink. "Granted, the pain from our awakening only lasted a couple of minutes at most, but as far as levels go...yeah, I'd rather feel the pain of having my leg broken again."

"Ryuji..." Hifumi muttered, resting her hand on his arm.

"Seconded." Akira said, gaining their attention. "If you took all the pain I felt during and after my...well, after what the police did to me, and condense it down into the same time-span as gaining my powers, I'd take what the police did every time."

"It was really that bad?" Sae asked, taking Akira's hand.

"Then there was also ripping our mask off." Ryuji said, causing Akira to let out a pained laugh.

"Do we want to know?" Hifumi asked, looking between them.

"Probably not." Akira said, shaking his head.

"Futaba never had to rip her mask off though, did she?" Ryuji asked, causing Akira to look at him.

"No." he replied, smirking. "She just got abducted by a UFO via tentacles."

"What?" Hifumi and Sae asked flatly together.

"Futaba's Persona was a UFO." Ryuji said, smirking. "Every time she summoned it, she entered it by tentacles that were totally out of some hentai." he continued, before what he said seemed to hit him. He quickly turned to Hifumi, shaking his head. "Not that I've ever seen anything like that, I swear! I mean, everyone knows about that, so that's how I know, I swear. It's just a trope. They make fun of it in normal anime and games, I swear."

"F." Akira said, causing him to look at him and glare.

Meanwhile, Hifumi and Sae continued to look at the two of them, unable to form words. After a moment, Sae cleared her throat and shook her head slightly.

"So...how about Okumura?"

-

"Okumura has a grenade launcher and a battle axe!?" Sae exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. Ryuji nodded his head and swallowed his food.

"She had this scary-a...scary smile on her face when fighting." Ryuji said, leaning forward. "Like, don't get me wrong, all the girls were effin' scary, especially your sister. But Haru...I mean...Bro?" he asked, turning to look at Akira. He simply nodded his head and turned to look at Sae.

"She once made a comment about how much she loved when the Shadows cried and begged for their lives." he said. Sae looked at him the same way she did when he managed to prove to her that Morgana could actually speak, dropping her fork onto the table in shock.

"She seems interesting." Hifumi said, drawing their attention. "You said she used the name 'Noir' correct? I assume she was the one dressed as a Musketeer?"

"Yeah, she was." Akira replied.

"You should have seen her when we met." Ryuji said, smirking. "She came out posing while calling herself the 'Beauty Thief' and forgetting the lines that Morgana taught her."

"Hmm..." she muttered, looking up for a moment. "I wonder if I can work that line into my shogi lore?"

-

"So, Akira?" Hifumi asked while they ate dessert. He had to admit, the double-date had been enjoyable. Even if he was the butt of many new jokes, it was nice that Sae didn't seem to regret dating someone who tried to pull a bunch of Extra-style crap while battling Shadows.

"Yes, Hifumi?" he asked, looking up at her while taking a sip of his coffee. He considered ordering Black Ivory, but had quickly decided against it.

"Since we've talked at length about you and the others, what are some stories about Ryuji?" she asked, causing the boy in question to tense. "He's really never mentioned things he himself did, other than fighting Shadows. Most of the time, he just talks about how great of a team the rest of you were." Akira looked at him and gave him a smirk worthy of Joker.

"I got a few stories I could tell." he said, causing Ryuji to gulp. He opened his mouth to start with the story of Operation: Maidwatch to get back at everything he had said about him, only to stop and close it after a moment.

He wasn't blind, nor was he deaf. He had noticed Ryuji trying his best to not curse as much as he used to. He noticed him taking his school-work more seriously, begging to come over and study much more often than the night before an exam. He was working on his manners. The rest of the former Thieves noticed it, including Morgana. Ryuji was trying his hardest to improve himself, and Akira realized it was all because of the girl sitting next to him.

He figured he could play wingman for one night.

"Well, remember when I said he was _the_ founding member of the Phantom Thieves?" he asked, getting Hifumi to nod her head. "I wasn't kidding. The only reason we formed the Phantom Thieves was because Ryuji convinced us to do so." he said, causing Ryuji and Hifumi's eyes to widen. "We were actually sitting at that table over there when we decided to do so." he said, pointing toward the table across the room. "We were here celebrating taking down Kamoshida, and Ryuji convinced us to continue."

"Is that true?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"I mean...I guess it was." Ryuji said, turning to face her. "Still, though, it was more of a group decision. I mean, I guess I'm the one who voiced it, but I wouldn't say we formed all because of me."

"There was also the time when Makoto was kidnapped." he said, setting his coffee cup down. "We didn't know what to do to help her, except Ryuji. He jumped in front of a taxi to get it to stop so we could follow the car the yakuza were driving. Had he not managed to do that, we probably wouldn't have been able to save her."

"What?" Sae asked, looking at him in shock.

"Well...we didn't really have time to think things through." he said, shrugging. "We needed a way to follow them, I saw a taxi driving up, so I figured that was the best way to stop it."

"Then, of course, there were all the times he saved our lives." Akira continued, picking up his coffee cup to take a sip. "He saved us all individually many times, but there are two that will always stand out to me." he said, moving to put the cup down, only to stop and take another sip instead. "When we stopped Shido's Shadow, his real self decided to take us with him. We learned quickly that a Palace would fall for only two conditions: we steal the treasure, or the person dies. So his Palace is sinking, and we're stuck. If we went down with the Palace, we would die. Ryuji sees a lifeboat, and makes a sprint towards it to swing it around so we could board it. We start to make our way over to him, when an explosion blew him away." he continued, pausing for a moment to set his cup down. "We thought he died."

"Died?" Hifumi asked, pulling Ryuji's arm toward her.

"Turns out the explosion threw me out of the Metaverse and back into the real world." Ryuji said, putting his hand on hers. "The girls then decided to beat me up for surviving."

"To be fair, you made fun of Ann." Akira replied, causing Ryuji to blush slightly. "Besides, they all apologized to you afterwards."

"True." he said, taking a drink of his hot chocolate.

"You said there was another time?" Hifumi asked, causing Akira to nod.

"Do you have two sets of memories for the last week of December and the first five weeks of the year? One set you know is real while the other set seems like a dream?" he asked, causing her eyes to widen as she nodded her head. "Someone managed to gain control of the powers to change reality. He did a lot, including making the Phantom Thieves forget their feelings of Justice. Only Akechi and myself managed to remember everything was wrong and access our powers."

"So...Akechi is a part of..." she started to ask, trailing off as Akira and Ryuji's faces darkened.

"No." Akira replied. "Akechi was never a true member of the Phantom Thieves. He's nothing more than a pawn used by a megalomaniac as a murderer. Just because I visit him for a game of chess once a month to annoy him doesn't mean I'll ever forgive him. However, he was the only ally I had during that time. We were fighting against another Persona user who was having her powers used against her will. The two of us were beaten when he made her use an attack that would kill us." he said, turning to look at a now blushing Ryuji. "Instead, Ryuji here ran in front of us and blocked the blow."

"Bro..."

"I have zero doubt in my mind that I would not be alive to sit here were it not for Ryuji." Akira said, turning to look at Hifumi. "Even when I gained my powers, it was because of Ryuji. Times when I questioned myself, times when I just wanted to give up, he was always there, ready to offer a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen. I was prepared to spend my year on probation here before going back to Shibata and never look back. My chance meeting with Ryuji changed all that, and lead me here to today."

"You make it sound like agreeing to date me was only because he turned you down." Sae said, the humor in her voice showing she was only joking.

"Well, you'll always be first in my eyes." he said, smiling at her before turning to look at Ryuji. "Though, I guess to be completely honest, Ryuji had just rejected me after giving me chocolate. I asked him if it was honmei and replied it wasn't."

"Seriously, Bro?"

"Too bad." Hifumi said, leaning against Ryuji and causing his blush to grow. "He's mine. You can't have him."

-

"So I take it you actually have stories he wouldn't want you to tell?" Sae asked as they got in her car. They had said goodbye to Ryuji and Hifumi at the entrance of The Wilton and made their way to the parking garage while the other two headed toward the station.

"You could say that." he said, smirking.

"Why didn't you?"

"Honestly?" he asked, turning to look at her for a moment. "It seemed like everyone got something out of this, except for Ryuji. Ann gained a passion to continue as a model and strive to be an actress. Yusuke managed to break into the art world and have his pieces recognized as his own. Makoto learned how to live and rededicated herself to the Justice she believes in. Futaba managed to overcome her depression and start on the path of putting her brilliance toward something practical. Haru, though she lost her father, also learned to stand up for herself. Meanwhile, Ryuji didn't really gain anything. He'd help out anyone who asked, yet when all was said and done he was still the same person with the broken leg who people still blamed and called a delinquent."

"So you didn't tell those stories because you felt sorry for him?"

"I wouldn't put it that way." he answered, shaking his head slightly. "Ryuji...honestly, he only met Hifumi by chance. He was hanging out at Leblanc one night when Hifumi showed up. We were joking around and then Hifumi started to teach him shogi. I honestly expected him to last maybe one lesson before calling it quits. Next thing I know he's over at Leblanc a few days before White Day asking Boss for tips on what he should do. Then I notice they have phone-charms relating to each other and he's trying his best to better himself. He's been trying not to swear as much, trying to study more diligently, trying to work on his manners. I figured, since Hifumi said he never really talked about his heroics, I would play wingman for him."

"Well, based on how she was looking at him, I'd say it worked. Don't be surprised if he starts thanking you tomorrow." Sae said, causing him to look over at her. He noticed a small smirk on her face.

"So long as he doesn't try to give me a blow-by-blow replay." he said, causing her to let out a small laugh.

"So tell me." she continued, turning to look at him for a moment before turning back to the road. "Those stories you mentioned. How many of them involve you as well?"

"Um...all...of them...I guess." he said, stammering out his answer.

"I know your group likes saying that 'F' meme from whatever video game it was." she said, turning to look at him again with a small smirk before once again turning back to the road. "Wasn't there another one about throwing down a grenade when you die?"

"Martyrdom. Drop a live grenade when killed." he muttered, looking over at her. "Looked them up?"

"I was curious as to why Makoto was saying 'F' every time she heard the phrase 'for real' uttered." she said. "I understand that 'F' comes from a video game, but not why it was for the phrase."

"Ryuji said it a lot." he replied. "We...kinda tried to stop saying it after a while."

"Understandable. Now, back to the business at hand, so to speak. " she said, placing her hand on his thigh, slowly moving her thumb against the top of it. "Tell me. Would you have really told those stories, knowing I was sitting right there next to you?"

"I mean...he kinda dragged me into most of them." he said, enjoying the feeling. "I was just the poor helpless bystander in the stories."

"So which ones _weren't_ you the helpless bystander in?"

"Is this an interrogation, Madam Director?" he asked, his voice taking on the cues of Joker.

"That depends." she replied, slowly moving her hand higher. "Do you want it to be?"

"I wouldn't say no, provided you're the one doing the interrogating." he shot back, his voice cocky.

"In that case, Mr. Phantom Thief, I believe you'll have to come with me." she said, her voice taking on the edge it had when she had been hunting him down. "Don't think you can make me have a change of heart, though."

"We'll see about that." he replied, his voice playful. "After all, I'm the leader of the Phantom Thief of Hearts. Changing them and stealing them is what I do."

_...Akira spent a lot of time with Sae._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While new Extra Chapters will continue to be posted, I've decided to try my hand at Fictober20. It was will be a continuation of this chapter, only following Ryuji and Hifumi's relationship, and everything that comes with it.


	50. Seventeenth Loop AU Chapter 1 - The Day the World Went Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first things first. Massive shout-out to BrokenRequiem for giving me the idea to write this. The idea was posted as a comment on Chapter 36 - March 20th. I really didn't have a plan to write it, and already had the ending of the series written even before I finished writing Chapter 36, but damn it if reading that idea didn't make me want to write this idea of a seventeenth loop. This will be five chapters long posted over the next several days.

11:59:57 PM.

...

11:59:58 PM.

...

11:59:59 PM.

...

11:59:59 PM.

...

11:59:59 PM.

"...no." he muttered, looking at the frozen time on his phone. "No. No!" he yelled. He looked over at Morgana and saw him still lying there, having not reacted to his yelling.

Suddenly, he felt his eyelids grow heavy. He felt himself grow more tired than he had ever felt before as he lied back on the bed. He knew what was coming. He knew what would happen. It had happened so many times already, yet he hadn't felt the desire for it to not happen as strongly as he did now.

"Sae..." he muttered as his eyes closed, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

He tried to open his eyes, tried to force himself to wake up.

"...I love you..." he muttered softly.

Sleep overtook him.

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

He sat there, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks. He noticed a few people looking over at him for a moment before looking away, uncomfortable. He paid them the same mind they showed him, none at all. None of them mattered to him. All that mattered was that he looped back. Everything that had changed, everything that was different, and he still was sent back to the beginning of the year.

The train stopped and settled a moment before the doors opened, the car quickly emptying around him. He continued to sit there, silently crying. He wondered if he just sat here would they turn the train around and send him back to Shibata. Granted, he wasn't on a bullet train, but deep down he no longer cared about staying in Tokyo.

He had tried everything he could think of, and none of it worked.

Maybe if he killed himself, it would all end.

"Excuse me, Sir?" a voice rang out. He considered turning to face them, but decided against it. It really didn't matter if he did or not anymore. "This is the final stop. You need to vacate the train."

Slowly, Akira stood up and made his way off the train, not once looking at whoever was speaking.

-

He walked into Leblanc, having walked on pretty much on autopilot. As always, it looked the same way it did. For a brief moment, he saw in his mind Sae sitting at the counter smiling while drinking a cup of coffee, smiling at him. It vanished as quickly as it came, though. Instead, it was once again the old couple wasting time for a single cup of coffee while Sojiro stood by the counter, working on the crossword puzzle. Sojiro looked up at him and folded the newspaper.

"Oh, right." he said for the eighteenth time. "That was today."

"Yes, it was." Akira said, his voice lacking any emotion. "You're name is Sakura Sojiro. This is a business, so don't disturb the patrons or mess with anything in the store. I'll be staying the attic, and my things are already up there." he continued, making his way toward the stairs in the back. He stopped and look at Sojiro for a moment, noticing the man's shocked expression quickly turn to annoyance. "Thank you for your care." he said, bowing slightly before walking up to his room.

"Sounds like you got a rude one there, Boss." he heard the older man say as he started to climb the stairs.

"Sounds like." Sojiro said, sighing. "At least he knows enough about respecting boundaries, though."

He continued making his way into the attic and walked over to sit on the bed, ignoring the boxes in the center of the room. He sighed and leaned back, looking at the ceiling. He felt tears wanting to start falling again, but forced them down. He knew he wouldn't be able to function if he went around crying at the drop of a hat.

After a moment, he sat up and looked at the area. He let out a disgusted sigh and stood up. He walked over to the shelves and started to sort through everything, trying to make the place functional. He no longer cared about the cleanliness of the place, but if he was going to be forced to stay here he may as well make sure it functioned as a storage area.

As he slowly worked, he started to question how he would go about this loop. He knew there were things that couldn't be changed. He would have to meet Ryuji on the first day of class. He would have to move forward with stealing the main hearts they stole. He would have to go through Mementos in order to kill Yaldabaoth once again in December. He knew those were set in stone.

Other things, however, he could simply ignore. Maruki could go fuck himself. Akechi could do the world a favor and die. Sumire could continue to live in the lie she formed for herself. His confidants could put up with their own problems. The rest of the Thieves could deal with their own issues as well. As for when he had to deal with Sae, he'd simply...

...he'd simply...

He slowly dropped to his knees in the middle of the attic and took several deep breaths.

He knew he had time to figure out just what to do when Sae showed up. He had just under a month before he would first meet her. He'd have a plan to ignore her as well by then.

"...yeah right." he muttered to himself, ignoring the tear that rolled down his cheek. "Better odds of Yaldabaoth just ignoring me this time than my being able to pretend the last month I spent with her didn't happen."

This was going to be a long year.


	51. Seventeenth Loop AU Chapter 2 - Something I Can Never Have

"Are you ready yet, Morgana?" he asked, his voice flat. He had been dressed and ready to go for almost fifteen minutes now, and was ready to simply leave Morgana here. However, he didn't want to test the possibility of pissing off whatever higher being was doing this to him and be forced to reset back to the beginning of April again.

"You're in a hurry." the totally-a-cat said, looking at him. "It's nice to see, considering how uninterested you looked when the others mentioned heading out for this."

"I have money." he said, looking toward the boxes of items he had. "I don't need to pawn off something like this. I'm only doing it because the others don't want to."

"Still..." Morgana trailed off.

"If you're done wasting time?" Akira asked, getting a sigh in return. "I'm fine leaving you if you want."

"Fine, fine." Morgana said, walking over to get in his bag. "Seriously, though. What's with you today?"

"Doesn't matter." he replied, picking the bag up and hurrying downstairs.

Today was May 4th.

Normally, this was the day he met Sae.

Thus far, he had kept a mostly professional outlook with the rest of the Thieves. It was easy with Ryuji and Ann. All he had to do was ignore their request to do things with him. He had a lot of practice over the years with ignoring Mishima, so it wasn't that hard to do. Morgana was different. He had to put up with the talking cat constantly being with him. He still kept his mannerisms professional, but it was harder to do sometimes.

Thus far, he was able to buy high-end medicines from Tae by showing her the dog-tags she gave him his first time through. He had no idea what kind of magic those items held, but it really made things far easier at times. He didn't bother with any other of his confidants, though he did plan to do the same with Kawakami to get massages.

But Sae.

He still didn't know what he was going to do once he finally saw her. He knew she would interrogate him during the end of November, but that was a long time off. He figured he would come up with a plan by today in order to avoid her. Unfortunately, said plan basically boiled down to trying to leave early and not run into her, something that Morgana seemed hell-bent on making sure didn't happen.

As he entered the empty cafe downstairs, he could only hope he would make it getting out.

"Make sure to do the dishes." Sojiro said, causing Akira to freeze. He tried to move his legs to continue walking, but couldn't.

_Fuck._

"When I get back." he replied, his voice as flat as ever. He knew it would piss of Sojiro, and wasn't disappointed.

"Just do it! Don't get cocky with me!" the older man snapped before the door opened. He turned to look at the person who walked in. Despite his best attempts not to, Akira couldn't help but look at the woman walking as well. "Welcome." Sojiro said, his voice slightly strained.

"Am I interrupting something?" Sae asked, her voice and posture guarded from the tense atmosphere she walked in on.

Akira tried not to stare at her. He tried to keep the same professional impassiveness that he kept with everyone else, the blunt deadpan uncaring he used so he wouldn't be hurt anymore. He told himself repeatedly in his head that this Sae had no idea who he was. Sure, she'd told him that she had seen his arrest report, but she'd also told him she hadn't made the connection at the time. He wasn't a suspect in the Phantom Thief case yet. She had told him it wasn't until a chance sighting of him with Yusuke that she started to piece it together.

Right now, so far as Sae knew, he was just a random person standing in Leblanc.

"Not at all." Sojiro said, his voice back to normal. Sae nodded her head and moved over to sit down at the counter as the news came back from commercial.

"The cause of the runaway-train incident in the subway on April tenth still has not been found." the reporter said as scenes from the accident cleanup showed on the screen. "Police are hurrying to solve the matter as it may relate to the rise in psychotic breakdown incidents."

"Oh, is that the thing everyone's been talking about?" Sojiro muttered.

"Doesn't it make you curious?" Sae asked, looking at Sojiro. "People who were living normal lives suddenly went mad or deranged out of the blue. Not to mention that it's happening one after another...could they really be coincidental?" she continued, pausing after while leaving the question hanging in the air. Akira couldn't help it. He loved watching her as she pieced together a mystery. He loved having been able to bounce ideas around with her.

_Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Damn it, Akira, don't say anything!_

"Based on the evidence brought upon by the correlation, it leads one to suspect it isn't." Akira said, his voice normal for the first time this loop. It was enough to draw everyone's attention for different reasons.

"What?" Sojiro and Morgana said together. Sojiro looked toward Morgana for a moment before his eyes moved back to Akira. "Even your cat is shocked to hear you say something...normal."

"Normal?" Sae asked, looking back toward Sojiro for a moment before turning back to Akira. "I haven't seen you around here before. Are you a part-timer? I'm surprise this place can afford one."

"Uh, that's exactly the case." Sojiro said quickly, getting Sae to raise an eyebrow at him. She shook off the odd response and turned back to Akira.

"Are you a high school student? Where do you attend?"

"Shujin Academy." he responded.

"Oh...? Someone I know goes there as well." she said with a small smile.

"Would it happen to be the student council president?" he asked, ignoring the growing look of shock on Sojiro's face.

"That's right." she replied, her eyes narrowing a small bit. "Do you know her?"

"We've met once, though I doubt she remembers it. You have the same eyes, though." he replied, grinning internally at the slightest hint of a blush that started to dust her cheeks. "She was studying the library alone at a table. I asked if I could sit at the other end to read and she kindly told me to leave her alone. Honestly, I don't even think she actually looked _at_ me so much as in my general direction." he said, getting a short laugh out of Sae. He noticed the shocked look on Sojiro's face grow even more to an almost comical level.

"That does sound like something she would do." she said, shaking her head slightly. "Nevertheless, as her older sister, I apologize for her rudeness."

"It was no issue." he said, shaking his head as well. "I understand where she was coming from."

"Anyways, I've heard that things are rough right now." she continued, her eyes going dark. Akira knew she never liked the fact that a rapist had gotten to run free at her sister's school. "Your PE teacher, Kamoshida, confessed his crimes like he was a completely different person, supposedly. And it happened 'all of a sudden' one day..." she trailed off, looking at him. "What do you think? Can a person's mental state change so easily?"

"Are you asking if I believe in these so-called 'Phantom Thieves' that left a calling card?"

"Joker...what are you doing?" Morgana asked worriedly.

"I guess you could say that." Sae said, leaning back slightly. Akira forced his eyes to stay on her face and not how her pantsuit framed her figure perfectly.

"Is this an interrogation?" he asked, his voice becoming the playful cockiness he used to use on her during their month together.

"Depends." she said, her eyes narrowing slightly again. "Do I need to make it one?"

"Of course not." he said, giving her his old Joker smirk. It felt natural, like it had always been there, despite this being the first time it graced his features for this loop. "If these Phantom Thieves actually exist, than they are on the side of ethical justice. It could also have been a prank to attempt to blackmail and coerce Kamoshida into confessing. He _did_ rape a student and drive her to try and kill herself. It's possible the others he abused put it up to convince him to turn himself in. Maybe they showed him evidence that would have made not turning himself in worse."

"That's an interesting take." she said, nodding her head.

"Well, I was on my way out." he said, reaching for his wallet. He pulled out a few thousand yen and placed it on the counter. "Have what you would like on me." he continued, putting his wallet back in his pocket. "Consider it a hope that you continue to be a just prosecutor."

"How do you know my profession?" she asked, her eyes narrowing once again.

"Lucky guess." he said, smirking again. "It was that or detective. You don't have the mannerisms of the detectives I sadly know, so I went with prosecutor."

"I see..." she said, trailing off. He nodded his head and started to walk out. "My name's Nijima Sae." she said as he moved past her, causing him to stop and look at her.

"Kurusu Akira." he said, bowing politely.

"Kurusu...Akira." she said, her eyes widening slightly. He could see her mind putting together the pieces of the arrest warrant. He wondered how what he just did would change things between them, especially come November. Still, though, that was for worrying about in the future. "Nice to meet you." she said after a moment, her voice unsure.

"Likewise." he said, bowing again with a polite smile. He finished making his way out of Leblanc, wondering if he pissed off whatever higher being was behind this nightmare. He wondered if he would be sent back.

"Joker...what the hell was that!?" Morgana yelled. "You never talk that much...ever! You sounded like a normal human for once! You even smiled at her!"

"Are you finished?" he asked, his voice going flat again.

"Seriously, Joker...this can't be healthy." he answered, burying himself back in Akira's bag. "Still though, I guess it's nice to see you can act like a human sometimes."

"Let's just get this over with." he said, heading toward the station.

He didn't want to admit just how hard it was to not stand there looking into the window like an idiot and stare at her all afternoon.

-

It had been several months since that fateful day meeting Sae again. He had know this day would be coming for some time, and was actually prepare this time. Unlike last time, he wasn't remotely surprised when the rest of the Phantom Thieves called for a meeting with him.

"So...we need to have a chat, Bro." Ryuji said, opening the impromptu meeting.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at stuff on his phone to further show his level of disinterest.

"We have discussed this amongst ourselves." Yusuke said, drawing his attention. "We have all come to the unanimous conclusion that nothing ever surprises you."

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked, still not looking up. "I figured having being led by someone who could remain calm would be an improvement."

"Not to this level, Bro." Ryuji said with a sigh, leaning forward in his seat. "When we stumbled into Kamoshida's Palace, you showed zero emotion. It was like nothing surprised you. Hell, even when we met Morgana you showed no surprise."

"He's right, Akira." Morgana said. "Even when I started talking to you while hiding in your desk for the first time, you never reacted at all. Everyone else has, except for you."

"When Shiho jumped, you seemed way to calm." Ann said, looking at him. "It was almost like you either didn't care or you knew she wouldn't die."

"During Madarame's Shadow's confessions, you looked almost bored." Yusuke said, leaning back in his chair slightly. "It was almost as if you had heard it all before."

"The same with Kaneshiro." Makoto said, crossing her arms. "You didn't even bat an eye when he demanded three million yen. Why is that?"

"You say it like that's a bad thing, Makoto." he said, looking up at her for a moment before going back to his phone.

"That's another thing." Ann said, leaning forward to rest her shoulders on her legs. "You rarely call us by name, but you always refer to her by name."

"Your point?" he asked, not looking up from his phone as he continued to read news articles.

"You don't seem to have any romantic feelings for her...or anyone else, really..." she said trailing off. "But you always treat her better than us. Even _if_ it's just barely. With us, you only call us by name when you're annoyed with us."

"Is that so, Ann?" he asked, raising his head slightly to look up at her. After a moment, he went back to his phone. "Does anyone else have anything constructive to add to this meeting?"

"I do." Morgana said, getting the rest of the Thieves attention. "I've actually seen him act like a normal human once before."

"Morgana." he said, lowering his phone and looking at the cat. They glared at each other for a moment before Morgana let out a sigh.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Akira." he said, turning to look back at the rest of the Thieves. "A few months back, Queen's sister showed up. This deadpan...thing...over here started to act like a normal person. I'd swear he was flirting with her, if it wasn't so out of character for him to be flirting."

"Wait...he was flirting with my sister?" Makoto asked, shocked, turning to look at him. "Akira...you were flirting with my sister?"

"Got a problem with that." he asked, looking over at her.

"It's just..." she trailed off.

"Does anyone have anything actually _productive_ to discuss right now?" he asked, looking between them with a hard look. They turned away from him, unable to meet his gaze. "Then if you're done, leave. Don't bother contacting me. I'll contact you when we have a reason to go into Mementos or we get a target."

The group sat there for a moment looking at him before Ryuji stood up, shaking his head. He walked over toward the stairs and stopped, glaring back at Akira. He simply looked back with dull eyes.

"Fuck you, Kurusu. Seriously. Fuck you." Ryuji said, shocking everyone, Akira included. He only ever heard Ryuji mutter the word 'fuck' once during the year. Still, despite the surprise, he managed to keep his face impassive.

"Ryuji!" Ann snapped, her eyes wide.

"Is that an offer?" he asked, getting Ryuji's glare to intensify.

"Akira!?" she yelled, turning to face him as well.

"Sure as hell not from me." Ryuji replied, walking down into the cafe.

"Ryuji!" Ann called after him. She got up and looked at Akira. She opened her mouth, closed it, and ran down the stairs after Ryuji.

"I'll...see myself out." Yusuke said, standing up. He looked at Akira for a moment before shaking his head. He made his way down the stairs as well.

"Akira..." Makoto started, causing him to turn toward her.

"Yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Going to tell me to not waste my time with Sae?"

"No...I was just..." she trailed off, looking away. She let out a small sigh and turned back to him. "I'll...see you later."

"See you around, Makoto." he said, turning away from her. She stood there for a moment longer before walking down the stairs. He let out a sigh and stared at the ceiling for a moment before reaching over and opening the window. He looked down at Morgana, his eyes going hard. "I believe I told everyone to leave."

"You did." he replied, matching his glare.

"That included you."

"I'm not leaving."

"I'll throw you out the window myself." he shot back, standing up.

"Akira..."

"Damn it, Morgana!" he snapped. He could feel himself breaking. He could feel the weight of what he just did starting to pile on to the weight of everything else he had done. "Just...please...get out." he muttered, falling back onto his bed.

"Were it not for the fact that Persona users can't have Palaces, I'd swear you have one." Morgana said, walking over to the window. He vaulted himself up and looked down at Akira. "I'll give you an hour or so to get yourself back together." he told him before jumping out the window.

Akira fell to his side on the bed, feeling his eyes starting to sting from the tears. He pulled his phone out of his pocket again and opened the Meta-nav.

"Kurusu Akira." he muttered, wondering what would happen.

"No candidate found." the Meta-nav said, causing him to drop his phone next to him.

"That would be too easy." he muttered, burying his head in his pillow.

He knew what would happen if he did this. He knew it would hurt at first, but could only hope that maybe it would make the pain lessen when he once again reset. If he had nothing to look forward to, he couldn't be disappointed at loosing it. He had hoped to be able to do that to Sae as well, but he had to open his mouth when she came in back early May. He continued to convince himself that nothing would happen. If he kept everything professional, kept everyone at arm's length, he wouldn't be hurt.

At least, that was the idea.

For the first time since he was first sent to Tokyo all those years ago, Akira felt truly alone with no one to blame but himself.

For the first time since he was first sent to Tokyo all those years ago, Akira cried himself to a restless sleep.


	52. Seventeenth Loop AU Chapter 3 - Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this is probably touching an M rating right now.

It was November. Ever since that day, the rest of the Phantom Thieves had been distant with him. For the most part, things didn't change much in the Metaverse. They still moved as a team, but that was pretty much the extent of it. They no longer tried to joke with him, tried to get him to open up while in safe rooms, tried to engage with him in any way. Of course, each member had their varying levels of putting up with him.

Makoto and Yusuke seemed the most open to his presence. They treated him professionally, which worked well enough for him. Haru was still new, but he could tell that whatever crush she had gained for him his previous loops through wasn't a thing this time around. Futaba and Ann honestly seemed afraid of him. They tended to stay away from him whenever they could, which honestly worked out for the best. He had to keep telling himself that.

Then there was Morgana and Ryuji.

That night, after the fateful meeting, Morgana never came back. Instead, he ended up staying with Ryuji of all people. It was probably a good thing he saw them before they saw him. Had they seen the look of absolute pure shock on his face, it could have thrown everything he was trying to do away. He had yet to figure out just why they started to team up, but they did. He noticed Ryuji seemed to be more mature in public now that Morgana was with him all the time.

They were also doing a good job of pretending that Kurusu Akira didn't exist.

He told himself once again that this was for the best. That broken belief was one of two things he had to go on right now.

The other, pretty ironically seeing as how he was trying to push people away to make sure he wouldn't feel that level of hurt again when he reset, was spending time at Leblanc with Sae.

He didn't know if it was because he was at the cafe more often, or if she was actually going out of her way to show up, but she had started to stop by more often after that fateful meeting. They talked and debated the news and cases she was allowed to talk about. It reminded him in ways of that one month they spent together in the previous loop, only starting earlier. She wasn't near as open, and she would still snap at him if she believed he was being an ass, but she still showed up for coffee and to talk.

If he were being honest with himself, he'd admit that was probably the only thing keeping him going most of the time. Still, that was also something he could worry about later. Right now, he had a job to do, something more important than even dealing with Akechi standing next to him.

"Why don't you come down here, Mr. Phantom Thief." the distorted voice rang out. He smirked and jumped down, ignoring the rest of the Phantom Thieves and Akechi. He heard them following him, keeping their distance as they did so. He found himself wondering if maybe they did it in case Sae's Shadow decided to attack and kill him. He'd be out of their way, and they could move on as the Phantom Thieves without him and let Akechi think they would disband in grief.

He figured that could be the case.

"So...how are you today, Madam Prosecutor?" he asked, his voice playful.

"Ecstatic." she said, smiling evilly. "My other self was hoping so hard that you wouldn't be a member of the Phantom Thieves...even more so than her sister. I, however, am _thrilled_ to know that both of you are. It will just make destroying you both that much more pleasurable."

"I don't know..." Akira said, trailing off as a cocky smirk grew on his face. "I kinda figure _not_ destroying me would be more pleasurable for her."

"I don't deny that." the Shadow said, her smile turning playful as well. "The pleasure she's felt because of you _has_ been great, I must admit."

"A pity I wasn't there to lend a hand." he replied, casually flipping his knife. "After all...I'm pretty good with them."

"They are flirting." Queen muttered, sounding as if she was going to break. "I...they...how..."

"Queen.exe has stopped responding." Oracle said softly.

"It truly was a pity." the Shadow said, walking toward him while giving her hip and exaggerated sway. "I'm sure she would have enjoyed it a lot more. Subjecting you to all manners of degradation...it sounds like such fun."

"I'm not really for that." Akira replied back, stretching slightly. "Then again, for you, I'd make an exception."

"Stop!" Queen yelled, drawing their attention. "Stop! Just...seriously, just fucking stop! I can't listen to this! I don't want to know this! I don't want to _think_ about this!"

"You always were a baby, weren't you." the Shadow said, her voice lowering. "Let me guess...your precious little plush animal is too pure to see you take the edge off? You're afraid that you stupid plush animal will get scared being locked in the closet while you take the edge off as well? Because you don't want to, everyone else must follow the same rules? Is that right?"

"No...I just..." Queen stammered, starting to shut in on herself.

"This isn't a talk for useless babies like yourself." the Shadow said, her voice growing haughty. "Let the grown-ups speak. Go take your stupid toy and play in your room like a good girl. Maybe one day you'll learn how to grow up and stop eating away at my life. You've caused me to waste mine having to take care of you. I shouldn't have your holier-than-thou attitude get in the way of me having fun!"

"Sis..." she trailed off, falling to her knees. She flashed in blue flames as her thief outfit vanished. "I'm...please..."

"What the hell!?" Skull yelled in shock.

"She's lost her rebellious spirit." Mona answered.

"Shadow." Akira said, his voice hard. Everyone turned toward him, and he saw the shock on their faces. He knew why. He could see the flames dancing across him at the anger he felt.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, looking at him.

"Don't speak to her like that." he answered, his voice just as hard yet calm at the same time.

"You can't seriously be defending her?" she asked, shocked.

"I've known for a long time your heart's been distorted." he said, causing Makoto to gasp.

"You...have?" she asked, drawing Akira's and the Shadow's attention.

"I have." he said simply, turning back to the Shadow. "I will change your heart. I will change it, and fix the relationship you have with your sister."

"Really?" the Shadow asked, her voice growing even harder than it did when speaking with Makoto. "And what if the only reason my other self is willing to give you the time of day is because of me? Are you seriously going to give me up just because you want that worthless little girl to have a happy family?"

"Did I stutter?" Akira asked, his eyes growing harder.

"Akira..." Makoto said, her voice trailing off as flames erupted over her and her thief outfit reappeared. Queen stood up and walked forward. The Shadow turned toward her as she walked up to them. "We _will_ change your heart, Sis." she spoke quietly enough for Akira and Shadow Sae to hear her, but for the others to not hear them. "I know she'll still want to be with Akira after we change it. If that's what she wants...so be it."

"Let's see you try." the Shadow said, sneering that them. "The Phantom Thieves, led by the useless baby and the criminal boy-toy. I'll have fun watching you try."

-

The rest of the month went on as usual. They completed Sae's Palace in two days, and used the rest of the time to continue the status quo outside the Metaverse of each team member either being distant with him or pretending he didn't exist. Everything went the same for Akira, until the interrogation.

He still hated it. He hated that detective. He hated having to sign that confession. He hated everything about it. After fracturing his leg, the asshole detective thrust the confession under his face again. Every other time, he signed it, making sure his handwriting was a sloppy as possible.

This time, he just didn't care anymore. He turned his head up to look at the detective and shoved it away again. The detective had a look of shock on his for a moment before sneering down at him.

"If that's how you want it to be." he said, walking over and placing the clipboard on the table. He looked at the other detective and nodded his head back toward him. "You agree that he's been violent and we feared for our lives, correct?"

_What?_

"That's the truth." the other detective agreed.

_What?_

"I thought so." he said, turning back to face him. "You piece of shit!" he yelled, swinging a kick and hitting him in the groin. Akira doubled over on himself as he tried not to throw up. "You think you can get away with this!?" he continued, kicking Akira again. He felt a shooting pain go up his arm. Another kick, this time aimed at his chest. Akira tried to suck in a breath, coughing. He reached down and pulled Akira up by his hair and threw him back down again. Akira threw his arms out to catch himself, only to scream in pain as his left arm refused to hold any weight. The detective kicked him in the groin again, causing him to curl up on himself in pain.

"Just because we're getting rid of him doesn't mean we can do whatever we want." the other detective said, proving to Akira they were part of the conspiracy.

"I suppose you're right." the first one responded, hauling Akira to his knees. "Now, are you going to sign this confession of your crimes, or not?"

"Fuck...you..." Akira said, looking up at him. "Tell Shido...he's next."

"Well...I'll say this much." the detective said, walking over to the table. "You have my respect for never saying die. I'll give you that one." he continued, grabbing the chair and walking over to him. He folded it flat and pulled it back. "That's all I'll give you, though."

His eyes widened as the detective swung the chair at his head.

-

His eyes opened as he heard someone enter the room. He looked over and watched as Sae closed the bedroom door behind her. She gave him a soft smile and walked over to their vanity. She started to strip down, taking her jewelry off and placing it in a jewelry box sitting on the vanity in the process.

"Your daughter is driving my sister and her husband up a wall right now." she said, causing him to chuckle. "Seeing as Makoto never did any of things that she's claiming Nozomi was doing, I'm guessing it had to come from you."

"Depending on what it was, probably." he said, continuing to watch her. She stripped nude and walked over to bed as he pulled back the blanket. She climbed in next to him and lowered the covers, pulling her close to him.

"Still...it'll be good practice for her." she said, resting her head on his chest.

"They just got married." he said, enjoying the feel of her next to him. "By the time they have a kid, she may have forgotten by then. Besides, Nozomi's not really a baby anymore. Dealing with her now will do nothing to prepare them."

"I know they just got married." she said, the humor evident in her voice. "But look at it this way. How long after we got married did we wait to have Nozomi."

"Long enough after we got married." he said, causing her to pull away from him and look down at him.

"Akira. She was born the same year we got married."

"She was born ten months and one week after we got married." he said, smirking at her. "You weren't pregnant before we went on the honeymoon. Pretty sure you were once we got back from our little trip to Hawaii, though."

"Yes, because a one month honeymoon is 'little' when your husband's heiress friend is the one paying for it." she muttered, getting him to laugh. "Going back to what I was saying, though. What about Hifumi and the loud blond?"

"Hifumi swore on a shogi board that Ryuji knocked her up on the first week of their honeymoon and not before." Akira argued back, the smirk still on his face. If anything, it only grew at how she had referred to them.

"And the heiress and that artist?"

"Ten months and two weeks."

"My point is, all of you had that strange power. All of you became parents the same year you all married." she said, lying back down on him. "If Makoto is the same way, well..."

"For all we know it could only affect us guys."

"You also both said there was something different about her husband as well."

"True." Akira said, idly running his hand up and down her back. "It'll be fine, though. She was the Team Mom after all. Besides, if she follows the rest of us, I'm pretty sure she'd know by now."

"I suppose you're right." she said, resting her hand on his chest. "I love you, Akira."

"I love you too, Sae." he said, reaching over to kiss her forehead.

"Seeing as we're alone..." she said, trailing off. Akira could feel the smirk forming on her mouth. "Nozomi _has_ been asking if she was ever going to get to be a big sister."

"Has she, now?" Akira said, the smirk coming back as Sae shifted in order to straddle him.

"She has." she replied, smirking down at him. "But before we get to that, there's something I need you to do for me."

"And what's that?"

"Wake up, Kurusu." she said sharply.

"What?" he asked, his body starting to hurt.

"Wake up!"

"I am awake." he said, reaching up to touch his throbbing head. He flinched back and looked down at his hand, seeing blood.

"Akira!"

-

He slowly opened his eyes, flinching from the light. He noticed Sae looking down at him, concerned.

"Thank God...I thought they may have beat you into a coma." she said, kneeling down next to him. "Kurusu, can you hear me?"

"...Sae...?"

"Yes." she said, nodding her head. "Do you know where you are? Do you know why you're here?"

"I'm here with you." he said, his voice slurred. He reached a shaking hand out and stroked her cheek softly. "That's all that matters."

"God, they must have done a number to your head." she said, looking at the side of his head. He tried to remember what had happened, but he was having trouble focusing. He saw flashes of infiltrating Sae's Palace to defeat her Shadow. He saw Sae and himself in their bedroom, Sae riding on top of him screaming his name. He saw Akechi in his stupid-ass white getup setting him up. He saw Sae wearing one of his shirts and a pair of panties standing in their kitchen, enjoying the cup of coffee he brewed for her. He saw the detective pick up a chair and swing it at him.

"Detective...hit me with...a chair." he muttered, closing his eyes.

"Stay with me." she said gently, putting her hand on his. "Don't doze off on me, Kurusu."

"I'm with you." he said, opening his eyes for a moment before they started to slip closed again. "...I love you, Sae..." he muttered.

"You...what?" she asked, standing up quickly. It was enough to bring him lucid(ish) again. He watched her as she looked down at him, her eyes wide. After a moment, she closed them and took a deep breath, opening them as she let it out.

"Sae?"

"Akira, listen to me." she said, kneeling back down in front of him. "Right now, you're in an underground interrogation room. You were caught in a ploy to capture the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Right now, you're under arrest for terrorism, larceny, blackmail, treason, attempted murder, and straight-up murder. Do you understand this?"

"That wasn't us." he said, trying to keep himself grounded in reality.

"There's no other suspect."

"There's one very obvious suspect." he said, shaking his head slightly at her. "One very obvious suspect that's so obvious I'm actually disappointed you haven't worked it out."

"...the one who turned on you?"

"They may hate me as a person, but they would never betray the Phantom Thieves." he said, smirking. "The one who turned me in, however, would have had to have my trust to turn on me."

"You know who it is?" she asked, her eyebrow rising.

"So do you." he replied, the smirk still there. "But we have about two hours before the time comes. Don't you have questions for me, Madam Prosecutor?"

"Yes, I do." she said, biting her lip for a moment. It was so unlike her it actually caused his eyebrow to raise. "What you said earlier...did you mean that?"

"I've meant everything I've said here." he replied, his smirk turning into a true smile. "Everything I've said here."

-

If it weren't obvious before how different he was being treated, walking back into Leblanc after the trap would have cemented it for him. Before, the rest of the Phantom Thieves would greet him with open arms and cheers. This time, it was with an almost cool indifference. They caught up Sae and Sojiro on everything that had happened, before the group fell silent.

"So I have a question." Ryuji said, drawing the groups attention. "What the hell was with you inside that Palace, Kurusu?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice dull.

"When Queen's sister started saying all the crap to her, you became angry." he elaborated. "You don't show emotions...ever. Why there?"

He knew he could brush this off. He could say it was nothing, just shrug it off as his caring more for Makoto than the rest by saying it was because he had a thing for Sae. While she hadn't outright given him an answer, she also hadn't told him no. He could easily say it was because he was hoping he might one day have Makoto as a sister-in-law that he treated her differently.

Yet...as he opened his mouth, he found the truth spilling out of it.

"You heard what her Shadow called her, right?" he asked, getting them to nod in return. "That's how my parents see me. I was a straight-A student, top of my class, was considered one of the top students in the prefecture. Yet, they didn't care. They put up with me because treating me badly would have drawn dishonor to them. That changed as soon as I stepped in to save that woman, though. As soon as that assault charge was branded on me, they couldn't wait to get rid of me. They refused to post bail for me, and only did once my probation was set in stone."

"...Akira..." Makoto said softly, looking at him.

"Everyone in that town turned on me." he said, telling the truth about his home for the first time. Even when he revealed parts of it to Sojiro last time, he didn't reveal this much. "I figured...if I pushed people away now, it would hurt less when I go back."

"God, you're a fucking idiot, Akira." Ryuji said, drawing his attention.

"Damn it, Skull." Morgana muttered, shaking his head. "I thought we were working on this."

"You're thinking it, too, Morgana." he said, not even bothering to turn away from Akira to respond. "I'd beat the shit out of you right now if I didn't think the shock and pain would literally kill you. You really thought that little of us? I don't know which I would prefer...you being callous or you being this stupid." he finished, sliding out of the booth and standing up. "I'm heading out to Kanda." he said, turning to Morgana. "Coming?"

_Kanda?_

"I'll go with Panther, if that's okay." he said, looking at her. "Or...were you going to be with Shiho?"

"We were going to watch some movies." she said, smiling at him. "You can come and watch them with us. It's not like she doesn't know you can talk or anything like that."

_...what?_

"Shiho...knows?"

"Yeah." Ann said, turning toward him. He noticed, once again, her posture turning defensive. "Is...is that okay?"

"It's fine, Ann." Ryuji said, cutting him off while glaring down at him. "He's lost the right to complain."

"He's right, Ann." Akira said, looking over at her. "On both counts. Also, why are you going to Kanda, Ryuji?"

"None of your business, Akira." he said, pulling his phone out. As he typed a quick message on it, Akira's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the phone-charm he had on it.

A knight shogi piece.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." he said, turning back to the rest of the Phantom Thieves. They smiled and waved as he turned to walk out.

"Ryuji." Akira said, stopping him as he walked past him. "You're a far better leader of the Phantom Thieves than I ever was. Far better man, as well."

"...I'll talk to you later, Akira." Ryuji said after a moment, continuing his walk out of the cafe. One by one, the rest of the group followed, until finally only Sae was left after Sojiro walked out, flipping the sign to "CLOSED" on his way.

"You ever think the Phantom Thieves would be a disjointed mess of teenagers?" he asked, causing her to let out a humorless laugh.

"No." she answered, sitting down next to him. "I figured they were some unit that moved as one, always having the same goal in mind. Honestly, I thought your comment about them hating you was simply to try and make me think you weren't one of them."

"I said some bad things to them when trying to push them away." he admitted, lowering his head. "Honestly, I'm surprised they stuck around as long as they did. I know they've gone into the Metaverse without me. Probably some new team dynamic with a leading trio made up of Ryuji, Makoto, and Morgana. Between the three of them, they've done pretty well leading."

"And where did I play into this?" she asked, drawing his attention.

"I couldn't turn you away." he said, giving her a sheepish smile. "Something about you...I just couldn't."

"If you could go back and change everything...would you?" she asked. He did everything in his power to suppress the irony of the question. Going back would be easy. Make one drastic change, allow himself to be killed, and he'd be sent back and could redo everything again. Maybe his eighteenth loop would fix everything for him.

"I'd probably be more open to them, I suppose." he said, looking toward the seats that were once occupied. "One thing I wouldn't change, however, is all the time I spent with you."

"So you did mean what you said?" she asked, pulling his attention back to her. "In the interrogation room...when you said you loved me. You meant that?"

"I did." he said, nodding his head firmly.

"Good." she said, smiling at him. "Then I won't regret this either."

With that, she leaned in and kissed him softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As we got to this chapter, I realized that the original scene written by BrokenRequiem wouldn't really work with this seventeenth loop I wrote. Nevertheless, it still lead to this.


	53. Seventeenth Loop AU Chapter 4 - And All That Could Have Been

It was Christmas Eve. He stood silently in Shibuya, watching the snow fall around him. He knew his words about believing they hadn't seen the end of Morgana had fallen on mostly deaf ears. The rest of the Thieves had quickly dispersed, going their own ways not long after. That was fine. He knew he lost the right to call himself their leader and their friend. While the tension had mostly faded after his escape from Akechi's trap, he knew there was a void there that would never be filled. Too much had been said, and there wasn't much that could be said to take it back.

Still, so far as the public and the police were concerned, the criminal living above Cafe Leblanc _was_ the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He hadn't seriously considered trying to run since his first time through. He knew the rest of the Thieves would find the woman who he saved. She would be convinced to admit to falsifying her account of what happened. They would manage to free him in time for Valentine's Day. One thing was giving him pause, however.

Unlike every other time, he wasn't exactly on the best of terms with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. This time around, he really couldn't say for sure if they wouldn't just accept his arrest as being justice due to how he had treated them.

Honestly, he couldn't even say he would blame them.

"Akira." he heard her say. He smiled softly before turning to face her. He knew she would be here. Every time, she would always find him here. The first time was happenstance. After that, it was because he knew it needed to be done.

"Sae." he said, smiling softly at her. She walked over to him, her face tight.

"There's been a problem with the case." she said, walking up close to him. "We need to get you out of Tokyo, now."

"What?" he asked, his smile falling into shock. This was a new outcome.

"They're demanding the Phantom Thieves be torn down from the pedestal of being public heroes." she said, speaking softly so only he could hear her. "I managed to get them to delay the order. There should be enough time to get you on a flight out of Haneda. I'm planning on sending Makoto out of Narita. She can contact the rest of them and have them spread throughout Japan. They don't know who the rest of them are, but they know about Makoto and yourself. They also highly suspect I'm involved. They don't have proof, at least not yet."

"Sae...what about Shido?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"He'll be sent to jail." she said, looking him in the eye. "The rest of his political party, however, is a different question. There will be a lot of opposition to anything they do, but they'll remain until the next election."

"...and if I turn myself in as the leader of the Phantom Thieves?"

"I'm not entertaining that." she said sharply.

"Sae." he said, looking at her with a calm look in his eyes. "If I turn myself in as the leader of the Phantom Thieves...what happens to Shido and his party?"

"Shido will spend the rest of his life in jail...possibly getting the death penalty. Those who he names will most likely be arrested, and there were talks about having them tried with what basically amounts to treason. His political party will be completely gutted. Anyone not tied to any crimes in specific would most likely be removed via a vote of no confidence. As for you..." she trailed off, turning away from him.

"Then let's go to the courthouse."

"What?" she asked, turning her head back to look at him.

"I'll turn myself in."

"Akira, you'll most likely be charged with treason." she said, her voice rising. "Do you understand what that means!? Do you know what the penalty for that is!?"

"Sae...calm down." he said softly, noticing a few people turning to look at them. "Remember, we're in public right now."

"How can you be so calm about this!" she hissed, causing him to let out a sigh.

"I'm calm about this because I came to terms a long time ago that my life was over." he said softly, taking her hand in his. "I came to terms that all the plans I had for my life didn't matter anymore. When I was sent here, I came to terms that I would do everything in my power to not get close to anyone. Well, I screwed that up. I ended up hurting those who simply wanted to be my friends, who would have treated me as a friend, who would have stuck with me. If my turning myself in so they don't have to live the rest of their lives constantly looking over their shoulders is enough to reset the karmic balance, then so be it."

"...Akira..." she muttered, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I also know that the best lawyer in Japan is working this case." he said, smiling at her. "If anyone can find a reason to get me out, it's you."

"Akira..." she trailed off. She closed her eyes and shook her head for a moment before opening them again. "The SIU is a mess right now. There's no guarantee who would get the case. Since they suspect me of being an accomplice if not an outright member they may not give me the case. You could end up with some rookie who's law degree is still wet from the ink used to sign it. You could get someone who's managed to hide their affiliation with Shido. You could get-"

"Sae, answer this for me." he said, cutting her off. "If I turn myself in, if they start handing out strict penalties to Shido and his confidants, would the ones who get away go after the rest of the Phantom Thieves and their suspected confidants?"

"Probably not." she answered, shaking her head. "The potential backlash of being caught would be far too great, since they most likely _would_ be given the death penalty."

"Okay. Now answer this question for me, and answer honestly." he said, reaching up to stroke her cheek. "Do you want to spend the rest of your life separated from Makoto? To never see her again, never hear from her again, always questioning if she's safe? Do you want her to have to live her life questioning every person who tries to get close to her, wondering if they're a member of Shido's conspiracy trying to kill her? Do you want her to be forced to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder constantly every day?"

"...no." she whispered, lowering her head. For the first time, Akira didn't see Sae as the twenty-six, almost twenty-seven year old hard prosecutor. He instead saw Sae, the woman forced to grow up, forced to have all the answers for everyone during a time when she didn't have them herself. He reached over and pulled her into his arms and began to stroke her hair, ignoring the looks he was getting for the public display.

"I believe in you, Sae." he whispered into her ear. "I have zero doubt that you will be able to get me out of there in a timely manner. I have zero doubt you'll be able to get me out in time for Valentine's Day."

"You truly believe that, don't you?" she asked, putting her arms around him.

"I do." he said, smiling. "I believe it because I love you."

"I love you as well." she said, squeezing him tight. After a moment, she let him go and started moving toward the street. "Let's go." she said, looking back at him for a moment. He nodded his head and followed her to her car. They were silent on the walk. Akira knew once they got in her car, however, they would have the privacy to talk. After they got in, he wasn't disappointed.

"You're sure I can't convince you otherwise?" she asked, looking at him. He could tell from the look on her face that she knew he wouldn't change his mind.

"Positive." he answered, causing her to let out a defeated sigh.

"I figured as much." she answered, starting the car. As she started to drive off, Akira realized she wasn't heading toward the courthouse, but instead to her apartment.

"Um...Sae?" he asked, knowing he couldn't say he knew where they were going.

"Makoto is staying the night with Okumura." she said, looking at him for a moment before turning back to road. "So far as I'm concerned, you're staying the night with me. It'll be a reminder to you of what you have waiting for you, and a reminder to me of what I have to fight for."

"Are you sure?" he asked, trying to keep the hopefulness out of his voice. "I know you were saying it could be an issue if it got out that you're seeing a high school student."

"I'm sure about this." she said, giving him a glace. "Are you? I don't want to pressure you if-"

"I'm sure." he said, taking her hand. "Believe me. I'm sure."

_Akira spent a long evening with Sae._

-

Akira had quickly lost track of time. With the exception of having gone to court in order to offer testimony against Shido, testimony which was quickly classified right after being found valid, his existence was nothing more than the small solitary jail cell he was given. He knew they would not allow him to have any visitors, and the only method he had to keep any track of time in the windowless room was the meals they brought him.

Even that, however, had not been enough to help him keep track of time.

Nevertheless, when he heard the keys opening his cell door, he was ready to get out of there. The door opened and two guards stood there, looking at him.

"Prisoner P508954TS, stand with arms held out." one of the guards said, holding a handgun. Akira stood up and held out his arms, watching as the other guard walked forward with handcuffs. He did his best not to flinch as they were put on him. The guard knelt down and attached another set of handcuffs to his legs before threading a chain between them. With that, the guard stood up and walked back out of the cell.

"Prisoner secured." he said, taking his sidearm from a guard outside Akira's field of view.

"Prisoner P508954TS, you are being moved." the first guard said again. "Due to your crimes, any movement taken as hostile will be met with lethal force. If you understand, affirm you do."

"I understand." he said, his voice rough from lack of use.

"Let records show Prisoner P508954TS states he understands." the guard said as both of them took several steps back, never once turning away from him. "Prisoner P508954TS, please exit your cell and follow guards to your right."

With that, Akira slowly walked out of the jail cell and turned to follow the guards. He noticed four following him, all armed. He had to wonder just what had changed compared to the past. Usually, he only had a twin escort. This was different.

Nevertheless, they still led him into the same meeting room, complete with Sae sitting on the other side. He gave her a small smile as he walked in and sat down, waiting for the guards to leave before opening his mouth.

"Gotta admit...you're a real sight for sore eyes." he said, giving her a playful smirk. She simply shook her head.

"As are you." she replied. "After much deliberation, the courts have decided to move forward with charges of Crimes Related to Insurrection for Shido and his confidants. Considering he has been asking for the death penalty since finding out the charge, Shido will most likely get life in prison since they consider that a worse punishment in his case. Several of his confidants had changes of hearts immediately after the election, and they will most likely be given life in prison as well. Any who didn't have a change of heart will be hung."

"I can live with that." he said, leaning forward slightly. "Any news on me?"

"Your assault charge has been dismissed." she said, smiling slightly. "The real issue, however, is your actions as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Despite public outcry, the courts are pushing for you to receive the same charges as Shido. Their argument is that you were working against the legally elected law and officials." she continued, looking down at her watch. "However, there's always a plan B."

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to process everything she had just said.

"It should be time." she said, taking her phone out. She went to a live news broadcast and held it up for him to watch. He looked at her phone as the newscaster talked about the case, only for it to cut off and the familiar logo of the Phantom Thieves to appear in its place.

"We are the Phantom Thieves." he heard Ryuji's distorted voice come through. "This is a message for Judge Nakamura Hido, currently in charge of the case against our former leader."

"As you listen to this, all documents linking you to Shido that you attempted to destroy are being released." Makoto said. "Also included are all the cases where you knowingly judged innocent men and women guilty of crimes they didn't commit."

"The Phantom Thieves are still out there, and we're growing." Ryuji said. "Just because our methods may be different, we will still take your heart."

With that, the feed cut back to the newscaster, looking down at sheets of paper. She looked back up at the camera.

"Um...we received the papers supposedly leaked by the Phantom Thieves." she said, looking back down at them before looking up. "They...appear to be authentic."

"And that's that." she said, turning her phone off. She slipped it back into her pocket and pulled several files from her bag. She stood up and walked toward the door, knocking on it. A guard opened the door after a moment and Akira could already see the chaos caused by the leak going on.

"What?" the guard asked.

"In light of the clear flaunting of the law, as well as the obvious conflict of interest with the judge installed for my client, I am demanding his immediate release to me." she said, handing him the papers. "Here is a copy of the paperwork proving Judge Nakamura's issues, as well as the release form signed by the Director of the SIU."

"We'll need to contact the Director to verify this." the guard said slowly, looking around.

"Then it's a good thing I'm right here." she said, pulling an ID card and showing it to him. "I _am_ the Director of the SIU. I am ordering his immediate release to my protection until such time a neutral judge can be installed or the charges against my client dropped."

"These documents were just released." the guard said, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "I had heard rumors that the new Director of the SIU was in league with the Phantom Thieves. How else could you have gotten these before anyone else?"

"They sent them to me." she said, looking down at him. "I verified them and began the case against Judge Nakamura prior to coming here. Now, are you going to release my client to me for protection or am I going to have to press charges against you as well for flaunting the law?" she asked. They both stood there glaring for a moment before the guard reached for his radio.

"Release Prisoner P508954TS." he said.

"Thank you." she said, turning to watch as the guards entered through Akira's side. He looked at them as they took the handcuffs off. He rubbed his wrist as he stood up, turning to face them.

"Follow us." one of them said. He nodded his head and walked out with them. They lead him to a small locker room where he was allowed to change back into the clothes he wore when he arrived here. He was taken to a desk and signed out before they lead him out to a waiting area. Sae stood there waiting for him, and it took everything in his power to rush over to her.

"Ready?" she asked, getting him to nod. "Good. Let's go." she said, walking toward the door. He followed and she led him to her car, parked near the front.

"Job perk, Madam Director?" he asked cheekily, causing her to let out a small laugh.

"If you can call it one." she said, getting in the car. He got in as well, and she started the car and drove off. She took his hand as they drove in silence, just enjoying each other's company. After a few miles, she pulled off the road and stopped.

"Something wro-" he started, being cut off as she leaned over and kissed him hard. He returned the kiss, stroking her hair as he did so. After a few moment, she broke it off, pulling back to look at him.

"I've missed you." she said, leaning back in to kiss him again. It was quicker than the previous one, as she pulled back after a moment. "I've missed our talks. Being able to simply see you. Wondering if we'd be able to get you out of there."

"I told you I had absolute faith you'd get me out of there." he said, smiling at her. "What day is it, anyways?"

"February 13th." she said, smirking at him. "Needless to say, I managed to get you out of there in time for Valentine's Day."

"That you did." he said, smiling at her.

"I hope you don't mind having to stay with me." she said, pulling back onto the road. "The paperwork I sighed basically released you into custody of the Director of the SIU. Makoto knows, and she's stated that she might just get an apartment earlier than she had intended."

"I think I can survive living under your care." he said, smirking.

"I know...you may have pieced it together from the broadcast, but..." she said, trailing off. He figured he knew where she was going with it, and took her hand.

"I take it they're continuing on as the Phantom Thieves without me, right?"

"I'm not exactly happy about it, them continuing on with it." she said, squeezing his hand. "They promised to send me any details they find before they go public so the SIU can begin a case and verify the information was real. Admittedly, we jumped the gun with today's release, but it was under special circumstances. How do you feel about it, them continuing like that?"

"I lost the right to call myself their leader a long time ago, Sae." he said softly. "When we could still operate inside the Metaverse, they put up with me because I had powers they could never hope to have. Without the Metaverse, at best I'm a decoy. Futaba can pull any information they need. The rest can keep their ears to the ground in their respective social circles. I'm sure by now Ryuji and Ann's respective girlfriends have joined them. Hell, maybe they even Mishima was allowed to join them. Ryuji and Makoto can lead them, now."

"Sakamoto is waiting for you at Leblanc." she said, getting him to look over at her in shock. "He wants to have a chat with you. I'll drop you off and wait."

"Okay." he said, looking back out the window, wondering just what Ryuji could want.

-

Every time he entered Leblanc in the past after getting out of jail, it was joyous celebration. This time, there was only Ryuji, Sojiro, and Morgana there to greet him. Considering all they did was look up at him as he walked in, he figured maybe "greet him" was going a bit far in the description. Sojiro simply nodded to him and walked out of the cafe, flipping the sign to "CLOSED" so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"I told you we hadn't seen the last of him." Akira said in way of greeting. Ryuji simply snorted and looked back toward the can of soda.

"Yeah, you did say that." he muttered, taking a drink before turning to look back at him. "I suppose she told you about the Phantom Thieves, right?"

"She did." he said simply, nodding . "Adding more people?"

"You could say that." he answered.

"I guessed Shiho, Hifumi, and Mishima." Akira said, cocking an eyebrow. "Anyone else?"

"You have no reason to know who the Phantom Thieves are." Ryuji said, his face giving away nothing. "You may know the original members, but I can't think of a single reason for you to know the new ones that were added after you were removed as leader."

"Wait..." he trailed off, his eyes widening at the implication of those words. "...did you add them prior to the removal of Mementos?"

"Like I said, I can't think of a single reason to reveal that to you." Ryuji said, standing up. "You proved multiple times you never trusted us. Give me one reason why we should trust you." he said, looking hard into Akira's eyes. "Tell me this. Did you believe we would help free you? Did you believe that we would go out of our way to find the woman who started all this and get her to recant her testimony? Did you believe for even a second that we would do everything in our power to sway public opinion to keep you from hanging? Or did you believe that we would simply accept your imprisonment as an acceptable loss, and leave you to your fate?"

Akira opened his mouth to speak up, to tell them he had absolute faith in them, only to close it again. He knew what he thought. He knew he had truly believed they would leave him in jail and let fate decide what would happen to him. Ryuji sighed and shook his head.

"I transferred out of Shujin." Ryuji said, gabbing his can of soda. "So did Ann. I truly do hope you find happiness somewhere, Akira, I really do. From what Makoto's said, you actually seem happy and at peace when you're with her sister, so I know you can feel something. I truly hope you learn to believe people when they say they care for you, that you learn to actually trust people when they try to be your friend." he said before shaking his head. "I can't speak for the others, but I won't be there to see it. After everything that's happened, everything that's been said, I don't think I'd ever be able to trust _you_. Goodbye, Akira."

"...goodbye Ryuji...Morgana..." he said softly. "Take care of them."

"We will, Akira." Morgana said, speaking up for the first time. "I don't know if this is 'goodbye' from me, so...later." he said. With that, Ryuji walked past him and out of Leblanc, the bell chiming as the door closed behind him.

Leblanc had never felt so cold and uninviting to him before, and he knew it was entirely due to his actions.

With one last look at the cafe, he turned and walked out.

It wasn't home, anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally had a different outline for this chapter, but it went off the rails while writing the previous chapter. Originally, the Phantom Thieves were supposed to reconcile at the end of the pervious chapter, and this one would be about Sae asking Akira to the opera once again, but this time he didn't call Sojiro for help. Because of that, he never mentioned anything about Sojiro being more of a father to him than his, thus leading to him being sent back home in the next chapter. Obviously, that didn't happen. Nonetheless, there will still be a final chapter for this AU posted tomorrow, just different to match what was actually written.


	54. Seventeenth Loop AU Chapter 5 - Beside You in Time

Akira slowly opened his eyes, his vision blocked by the mass of hair of the woman lying in front of him. He smiled slightly and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling. He pulled her close as he felt her start to stir, and kissed her shoulder.

"You're up early." she said, still half asleep.

"Just woke up." he replied as she rolled over to face him. "Guess I just have a lot on my mind."

"You don't have to do this, you know." she said, causing him to nod his head.

"I know." he replied. "But I owe it to them."

"I really hate how you can be so noble sometimes." she muttered, leaning in to kiss him softly. "At the same time, you wouldn't be you if you weren't."

As they got out of bed, Akira started his morning exercises. Thanks to that detective (who, thankfully, was found by the Phantom Thieves), his entire left arm was basically shot. Destroyed shoulder and elbow, Tae had told him. He managed to get maybe two thirds of his mobility in it back, but on cold mornings like this, it was a nightmare. Still, that was just over three years ago now. A lot had happened in that time, complete with learning about just how badly that detective had hurt him.

Needless to say, Sae and him could also thank that detective for never having to worry about spending money on birth control.

He stood up, wincing slightly at the tightness in his side. As much as he had told Sae he owed it to the rest of the Thieves, he really didn't want to go through with this. In the three years since they had taken down Shido, the public had pushed to hear from their heroes. The rest of the Phantom Thieves had done their best to stay hidden, despite some of the high profiles they carried. Nevertheless, Makoto had come by and made a request to him: do the interview.

He put some clothes on, muttering a few curses under his breath at the stiffness in his arm. Sae came up behind him and rested her head on his good shoulder, rubbing her hand along his bad one. He leaned his head against hers, closing his eyes to enjoy the closeness.

"I'll be fine." he said softly, knowing what she was thinking.

"I have zero doubt." she replied, turning to kiss him. "I'll be watching."

"I'll be sure not to embarrass you, Madam Director." he said, causing her to laugh.

"I don't think you could." she said, kissing him again.

-

"Welcome back." the host said, looking at the camera. Akira honestly wasn't all that surprised that he once again found himself in the same studio he first met Akechi in. He sat in the same seat that late murderer had sat in many times, lying about everything he could possibly say. "With us today is Kurusu Akira, the infamous former leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Thank you for joining us today, Kurusu-san."

"Thank you for having me." he said, bowing slightly.

"Now, I believe the first question on everyone's mind is why are you the _former_ leader?" the host asked.

"After we first started, I had treated the rest of the Phantom Thieves badly." he said, shifting in his seat slightly. "I treated them with a cold professionalism as opposed to friends. Words were said, and by the time we tried to clear the air between us, it was too little too late. I still helped them with major cases, but anything that involved helping the general public on a case-by-case basis was all them. After we stole Shido's heart, I was officially removed and turned myself in so they could continue."

"Cases have continued to spread across the world." she said, leaning forward slightly. "How do you feel knowing that the group you started is still growing without you?"

"I actually didn't _start_ the Phantom Thieves." he said, giving a smirk worthy of Joker. "The current leader, Skull, was the one who started the group. I just had an edge that made having me in charge at the time make more sense. As for knowing they've grown and are managing to make changes on a world-wide scale, I'm truly happy for them."

"Do you happen to know who the new members are?"

"No." he said, shaking his head. "I know who the original members are, and I have a fairly good guess on who a few of the members are that were added while I was still technically a Phantom Thief, but the only ones I know of for sure are the original members."

"Do you still speak with them?"

"I'm still in touch with a few of them." he said, shaking his head. "I'm still able to check in on the ones who don't talk with me, and the few that do keep me updated with anything that I can't find."

"Now, a few audience questions." she said, pulling out some cards. "First, is Skull single?" she asked, causing him to laugh.

"He's married, or will soon be married." he said, hearing mutters of disappointment in the audience. "I won't say which."

"Second, several members of the audience wanted to know if they could possibly join the Phantom Thieves, if you know how they could go about doing that, and if you could put in a good word for them?"

"The Phantom Thieves will find you." he said, shaking his head. "If they believe you will be an asset to them, they will know. As for me putting in a good word for you, believe me, that would only make them avoid you. That's all I can say."

"Finally, do you know what happened to Akechi Goro?" she asked, putting the cards down. Akira looked at her for a moment before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before opening them again.

"Shido killed him." he said, causing the audience to cry out. "Right before we changed Shido's heart, we were ambushed. Akechi sacrificed himself so we could continue with the operation to change Shido's...his father's...heart."

"So you're saying Akechi Goro was a member of the Phantom Thieves?" the host asked, looking shocked.

"He had the potential to be." Akira answered simply. "Had we met two years earlier, we could have saved each other."

"Well...we need to take a commercial break." the host said, looking back toward the camera. "When we come back, we'll have a special guest to join us."

"We're out!" someone yelled, causing the host and Akira to stand. She walked over and shook Akira's hand, opening her mouth to say something when a gunshot went off. The audience screamed as Akira spun around to face the direction it came from, seeing someone with a cut down hunting shotgun.

"You sent a good man to prison!" he screamed, aiming the gun at him as security ran up. "Shido would have saved this country you piece of shit!" he yelled. Akira, having dealt with firearms in the Metaverse, recognized the man's arm tensing as he was about to fire. He shoved the host away from him as the gun went off.

Everything slowed down. He was aware of the pain, the inability to take in a breath as he fell to the ground. He could hear people screaming as security tackled the gunman. He saw people running up to him with medical bags.

He hit the ground, his eyes starting to fall shut as his vision blurred.

**IS THIS THE ENDING YOU ACCEPT?**

He hadn't heard a voice like that before in years. It wasn't the same voice he had heard all those years ago, yet still it carried the same power that even the likes of Yaldabaoth could never hope to have. As his vision went into a grayscale, a lone blue butterfly landed in front of him.

**DO YOU ACCEPT YOUR END HERE, ALONE WHILE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE?**

Did he accept it? His eyes grew heavy, and he knew he could just let it all end. Sae could find someone who could give her the life she deserved. The rest of the Phantom Thieves could move on with the knowledge the final loose end was gone.

That was fair...wasn't it?

**_So in the end, helping that woman was a mistake. Destroying the bonds you made was the correct path. Is that it?_ **

Arsene?

His vision cleared slightly, as the butterfly sat there in front of him.

**IS THIS THE ENDING YOU ACCEPT? OR WILL YOU STEAL THE FUTURE YOU TRULY EARNED?**

Slowly, he reached his hand out toward the butterfly.

He was Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

He'd be damned if he let it end like this.

He would steal the future he had earned.

He grasped the butterfly, feeling a comforting warmth in his hand as his vision darkened.

"...Sae..." he managed to breath out, nothing more than a whisper lost in the screams as the workers with medical bags reached him.

He felt his heart give out.

...

"Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left, will open."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this, the five-chapter Seventeenth Loop AU is now complete. The last two chapters went NOTHING like I had planned. The original plan for this chapter was Sae drove him home, only to tell his parents that she was taking him back to Tokyo. There will also NOT be anything about an eighteenth loop. While chapters will still be posted here, I will be concentrating on my Fictober20 story, which will start posting tomorrow at the same time. The story will follow the events from EXTRA CHAPTER 02 - Does it Count as a Double Date if Only Three out of Four Agree? and be posted under the Ryuji/Hifumi relationship tag. Please look forward to reading about the story of the ups and downs in the relationship of The Immortal Dragon Guard and the Queen of the Togo Kingdom.


	55. EXTRA CHAPTER 03 - March 21st Bad End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...it's been a while. We'll start with an update. Basically, I wrote myself into a corner with The Immortal Dragon Guard and the Queen of the Togo Kingdom. Originally, Chapter 14 was supposed to be Ryuji seeing he was ranked 10th in his year. He was going to call Akira to thank him, and Akira would tell him "I told you so" which was the chapter prompt. However, at this point in the story, they're not really talking. Some chapters that are coming up require them to be friendly, and will need to be worked on some more as far as a timeline goes.
> 
> I will say this now. All thirty-one chapters WILL BE POSTED. However, I don't know when. November 1st also sees the beginning on NaNoWriMo, which will be taken up with writing a new reworking of Persona 5, titled "The Phantom Thieves of Vengeance" and based on Chapter 08 - Time Paradox. Said story, however, will not be posted until a sizable chunk of it is complete (like...two-thirds minimum with weekly updates).
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is an alternate ending of Chapter 45 - This Future...You Fought for It. I originally entertained the idea of posting this instead of the chapter we got just to see how people would react, but decided against it. This takes place during that chapter, but instead of Sae walking into Leblanc...
> 
> ...well...

Once again, he was left alone inside Leblanc after the last customer had left for the evening. Sojiro had long since made some excuse to leave earlier during the evening, trusting the cafe to him in his place. Being the good surrogate son he was, he asked the older man if he was busy trying to find Futaba and him a new mom. Sojiro, being Sojiro, had reminded him that he didn't pry into what he did with Sae after closing up, and he promptly shut his mouth.

The door opening got his attention, and he turned to see Akechi walked into the cafe. They stared at each other for a moment, Akira's eyes widening as Akechi's expression remained neutral. Without turning away from him, he reached behind him and locked the door, flipping the sign to "CLOSED" while maintaining eye contact.

"Expecting someone else?" Akechi asked, the words coming out in an exaggerated form of his Detective Prince persona.

"Actually...yeah, I was." Akira said, reaching up to rub his eyes. He lowered his hands and Akechi was still standing there, a smirk having grown on his face.

"I have to admit, I never would have thought Sae would have given you the time of day." he said, walking over toward the bar. He shook his head as Akira started to reach for a jar of coffee beans. "I know you couldn't keep your eyes off of her in the Metaverse, but to actually find out that the two of you are together..."

"How did you find out?" Akira asked, shaking his head. "Better question, how the hell are you still alive?"

"Considering how much you bitched in Maruki's shithole, I thought you'd be happy to see me here."

"I am." he said, nodding her head. "Seriously, I am. I'm just also confused."

"Believe me, I am as well." Akechi said, nodding his head. "You asked how I knew about Sae?"

"Yeah."

"I met her, outside." he said, nodding his head toward the door. "I don't know who was more shocked, her or myself. She told me the two of you decided to try seeing where a relationship would take you. I, however, already knew where one would take you." he continued, pulling out a silenced handgun. "It will take you to an early grave."

"What...?" Akira asked, trailing off at the sight of the gun. He scanned for anything he could use to defend himself with, only for his eyes to widen as Akechi raised the gun at him.

"I suppose the news will happily eat up the story." he said, an evil smile spreading across his face. "The leader of the Phantom Thieves, killing his adopted family and his lover before taking his own life."

"What!?" he yelled, ignoring the gun for a moment. "What did you do to Futaba and Sojiro!? What did you do to Sae!?"

"Killed them." he said simply. "I simply approached the hacker and shot her when she opened the door. After that, it was fairly simple to kill Sakura-san. He ignored all his government training and ran straight for his daughter's body where I left it. Bullet to the head, and he went down like a sack of shit."

"Fuck you." Akira said, feeling the rage building inside him. He knew what he had to do now. He would simply reset everything. He would go through the year again, get with Sae, and make sure Akechi stayed dead.

"As for Sae, I found her outside as I approached." Akechi continued as if Akira hadn't cut him off. "I'll admit, I was probably about shocked as she was. Another bullet, another early grave to fill."

"Why?" Akira asked, trying to get as much information before he reset. "Why do this!?"

"Like I said that day when we battled in Mementos..." Akechi said, trailing off. "I really fucking hate you."

As Akira watched Akechi's arm start to tense, he readied himself. He knew he wouldn't feel pain. From the times he'd been killed by a gunshot, he knew the killing shot didn't hurt. One second he would be facing down the barrel of Akechi's gun, the next second he would be arriving in Shibuya. He would make sure this next time would be his last loop. He knew what he needed to do in ord


	56. EXTRA CHAPTER 04 - Playing Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My finding out I have La 'Rona over the weekend may or may not have had a part in this being written. Unlike Akira, though, I don't have a girlfriend to play doctor for me.

"I knew I should have called to warn you when I read your fortune yesterday morning." Chihaya said, blaming herself once again while replacing the cold rag on Akira's head after having given him some medicine. He opened his mouth to tell her that it wasn't her fault before turning his head as another coughing spell rolled over him. After it passed he let out a groan and turned to look back up at his girlfriend for the loop.

"It's my fault for getting stuck out in the rain like that, Chihaya." he said, trying to keep the miserable sound out of his voice. He knew it was his fault, as well. Over the many loops he had been through so far, not once had he gotten sick. That all changed when, somehow, he got stuck out in the rain. That one action led to him being laid up in the attic of Leblanc with his girlfriend playing doctor for him. He knew Sojiro had been shocked to see him sick, and even more shocked to find out his girlfriend was several years older than him, but the man had simply brushed it off quickly and quarantined him to his attic.

"I know, but still…" she trailed off, reaching down to brush some of his sweat-drenched hair from his face. He tried to ignore how badly he wanted to lean into her touch like a cat.

Speaking of which…

"I still can't believe you got sick, Joker." Morgana said from his perch on the windowsill. Akira turned his head up to look at him as Chihaya did the same.

"It appears your cat is worried about you as well." she said, smiling up at him for a moment before turning back to Akira.

"I am not a cat." he muttered. "Joker, tell her I'm not a cat."

"He's probably just upset that my coughing kept him up all night since he likes to sleep on my chest."

"Your cat…sleeps on your chest?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I don't see how that would be productive to a decent sleep schedule."

"Wait…my sleeping on your chest could be hurting your sleep schedule?" Morgana asked, perking up. "But…but I thought it would be helpful for it. You mean I was only making it worse?"

"I think you've given my cat a complex." Akira said with a smirk. It quickly faded as he turned his head away and started coughing again.

"He is talkative, isn't he? It's almost like he can understand what we're saying and is responding to our comments." she said, looking back up at him. "For some reason, he also comes up as The Magician every time I do an in-depth reading for you."

"That's, uh…you don't say." Akira stammered. Part of him hoped that whatever it was that would reset everything when people started getting too close to the truth wouldn't reset things now, this late into the game. At the same time, being reset now meant that he wouldn't feel like death would be preferable.

He really hated how much he figured resetting this late in the game would be worth it just to allow him to be able to sleep again without waking up to a coughing spell every five minutes.

"Wait! Joker! What is...girlfriend...what is she doing!?" Morgana sputtered. He looked up at Morgana to see him looking out the window before turning to Chihaya, only to blush as he watched her remove her dress.

"Chihaya!?" he asked loudly, his eyes widening as she took her bra off. She looked at him for a moment before walking over to his box of clothes. He watched as she bent over and grabbed one of his shirts. She pulled it on and walked over to his bed. She climbed over him and lied down beside him.

"I believe I would be more comfortable dressed like this when sleeping beside you tonight." she said.

"Won't you just get sick as well?" he asked, his eyes not leaving hers.

"According to my fortune, I shouldn't get sick from doing this." she said, smiling at him. "It also showed that by my being here for you, you should have an easier time recovering from your cold. Also…" she trailed off, blushing slightly.

"Also…?"

"My fortune showed that if I did get sick, well…" she trailed off again, blushing more. "Well, it showed that you wouldn't mind playing doctor for me like I have for you."

"I guess it would only be fair." he said, causing her to smile. He closed his eyes and just tried to relax while ignoring the pain in his throat. "Still though, this wasn't what I had in mind when I thought about 'playing doctor' with a girlfriend one day."

"I'll tell you what." she said, leaning in close to whisper in his ear. "Once you're better, we can 'play doctor' all you want." she finished. Akira turned to her to make a witty comment back, only to have to turn away as another coughing spell rolled over him. He let out another low groan after it ended before nodding his head.

"Once I'm better."

_Akira spent a restful(ish) night with Chihaya…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah...I'm laid up at home with Covid19. I plan on trying to spend most of the next two weeks working on The Phantom Thieves of Vengeance to get further ahead than I currently am with it. If you haven't read it yet, please give it a look.


End file.
